Walrick

"What these and many other educators fail to understand is that these children have invented a new grammar specifically designed for a communication avenue that is unque to their generation. We should respect this and even marvel at how well these kids have adapted a new tool to their tasks and lifestyle and to enriching their personal relationships." (Warlick, 64)

I honestly do not agree with this quote. It is one thing to admire, if you will, the fact that children have created their own language to communicate. On the other hand, how much should we admire them for it? It is not correct English and certaintly not the type of grammar I would allow in my classroom. For a long time I used slang and all of the terminolgy that is listed on page 64, but I have made it a fact now not to use it. I complete each word and do not shorten it in anyway. To me, it seems unprofessional and it is not something I would encourage students to do simply because it is not correct.

What do you guys think?

Blog Quiz: RSS Feed

I have never heard of RSS Feeds until reading the chapter in Richardson's book, let alone use it.

The point of RSS feed is to connect/"link" people from all over the world to communicate by viewing the work that you post on the internet.

When I was updating "my 43 things" I was a red box that said "RSS" on it but at the time had no clue what it was meant for. Now that I am aware of this feature, I will use it on this blog, my 43 things, my delicious account and the site where I post some of the poetry I write.

The RSS Feed can be used in the classroom for numerous things.

1. On their blog and other sites that they will create (ex:librarything, class website, etc) This will give anyone and everyone that searches the students sites to see what they are posting, reading, writing, and discussing. This also allows others to write/respond on the students blog/websites.
2. As a teacher, I can use the RSS Feed to keep me updated and organized on the students most recent posts. This will allow me to see what students have written as soon as I sign in and will allow me to respond to them at a rapid pace.
3. Students can create RSS Feeds to keep them up to date about what interests them most. They can find books, genres, authors, and other resource information within the blink of an eye with these feeds.

Clearly, Richardson is right! These RSS Feeds are beneficial to everyone, help to learn more at a quicker speed, and keep everyone connected 24/7.

Blog Quiz : Time Magazine Article

I would be lieing if I said this was the first time I ever heard someone say that college is basically not worth all of the money we pay to attend. I on the other hand, obviously disagree.

Of course it would be great if the cost of college tuition could be decreased and I definitly think it would help thousands of others to receive an education. But isn't it ironic that just a few weeks ago we read an article that revealed that President Bush is cutting the amount that is spent on education? No wonder people do not think getting a college degree might not be worth their time. What are they going to learn if our own President is cutting down a huge part of the support system?

Not everyone is meant to go to college but to say that if you do go to college, it leaves you out in an open field is ridiculous. The point of college is to explore all of the different things you can study and then narrow in on something one would truly enjoy pursuing. How is that a waste? You are gaining more knowledge in every class you take. Won't that alone open more doors of opportunity as oppossed to not attending college at all?

I think watching a debate between Friedman and Caldwell would be extremly intense because they are viewing education from opposite ends. Friedman is very in tune with showing us ways to connect with others all over the world and how to communicate and explore our minds with as many people as possible. Friedman is way too open minded for Caldwell and in his defense would say that the 3.0 world has now given us the ability to teach and learn more than we ever could have imagined.

Blog Quiz : Friedman

I found Friedman's writing on the 2.0 world to the 3.0 world to be not only interesting, but effective. The 3.0 world offers many more accessible ways for students research, communicate, teach and learn.

ELA teachers need to be very aware when they work on teaching students to progress from one dimensional learners to three dimensional learners. Teachers will need to clearly show all of the new ways students can learn and how to use these new ways effectivly. In the classroom, this new tool for teaching will reveal many ways of communication at numerous levels. Students will expand their critical ways of thinking and writing through literature, conducting research projects, creating a blog and using the internet in an educational manner.

Creating my own blog has really opened by eyes to the numerous things one can do. By teaching a class in the 3.0 world, I can have my students make their own blogs, communicate with students all over the world and basically, create their own classroom. Students can form book clubs, write/share poetry with each other, discuss literature, and truly broaden their horizons.

Having the ability to communicate 24/7 inside and outside of the classroom will really teach students how to view their work and others through many different lenses. Could we ask for anything more?

Have you gotten caught....yet?

http://www.syracuse.com/ap/stories/index.ssf?/base/business-10/117206814260710.xml&storylist=topstories

Teen Tech Week

1. I definitly like the idea of "Teen Tech Week" and I enjoyed taking a glimpse through the Wiki.
2. What I like most about this is the fact that parents can be just as involved as their children. Parents need to be as involved with their children's education as possible and this is another great way for that to happen.
3. I think the events every Monday are a good way to keep teens motivated and eager to return to the site. Each week they can be involved in something else.
4. I also like the fact that the site sponsers virtual tours and shows teens just how important librarians are.
5. Teens need to be aware of the resources they can get from a library. Some are so fascinated with finding research through google, askjeeves, an yahoo, that they forget other beneficial rescources. This site is a great way to give more information to students and a great way to keep libraries alive.

Students learning less?

"What we see out of these results is a very disturbing picture of the knowledge and skills of the young people about to go into college and the workforce," said Daria Hall

• Standardized tests are the worst thing to ever happen in education and to students.
• Not every student is a good test taker and not every student is on the same learning level.
• The State needs to get rid of standardized tests and stop judging and stereotyping students because of their grade on a few tests. These tests are very nerve wrecking for thousands of students and many are so overwhelmed that they are not able to focus. Are we really going to penalize students because of tests?
• I am bewildered by the fact that even Special Ed. students have to take standardized tests. There are thousands of talented and intelligent students in the world that get left behind or judged because of a grade they received on a test.
• I did horrific on every city wide test I had ever taken. I would stress out all year knowing I had to take these tests and would continue to stress out even after the test was over.
• How dare anyone base a students "knowledge" because of low grade they receive on a test. A test grade does not claim them not adequate enough to be successful in the world.

"Vegas"

I am sure many of you know about the "Vegas" night that Neubig and ASC hosted the other night in Neubig.

Well I just found out that not only does ASC have a blog where we can request other types of food we like that is not on campus or give our opinion about the food we don't like, they want people to give them ideas about what to do for next year's theme.

Last year was a cruise.

I was looking through this blog and someone wrote "Since technology is increasing so much, why don't we have a high tech theme? Since we don't even know what time of technology is going to come out next, maybe we can do food of the future or something."

I just found this humorous and whenever I see the word technology anywhere I want to share what I saw or read on my blog.haha.

Ready or not - here it comes!

The Virtual schooling article is one of the most interesting articles that I have read so far in this class.

One thing is definitly for sure: schools need to be prepared for the dramatic change that will take place because of the opportunity of online courses.

I was proud that 15 year old boy who was handling online school work and helping his mother with the work load around the house. It just seems like today, children get away with everything. They go to school where they most likely don't pay attention and then go home and play video games or computer games for the rest of the night.

Not every child is meant to be taught online. I think that having the option is a great idea, but to one day get rid of schools would be a huge mistake. Some students really need that student-teacher relationship to grow, which you obviously cannot get through a computer.

I took an online course over the winter break and although I got an A- in it, I cannot honestly say that I took is seriously. I was so distracted by everything going on in my house and with my family, that I was too frusterated to really study or read. I often breezed through the chapters with the tv on, put it on mute when it came time to take a test, and guessed my way through discussions.

The reason I am sharing my incompetance with this class is because I experienced that I cannot take an online course as serious as I would if I were sitting in a classroom. Just like the article said, the child was able to help out at home, do some homework, go out and play, play a computer game and get back to his work later. Yes I believe children need a break when they are doing their work, but to have the opportunity with so many distractions will not help their learning process.

Projects

I wanted to congratulate the groups that presented their projects yesterday. I enjoyed watching my classmates present something they took in an interest in as well as showing us how to use new tools of technology and how to incorporate it into a classroom.

I have a "Librarything" account and I love it! I really recommend the rest of the class try it out!

I am still working on my del.icio.us account as well my list of "43 things".

I have always been iffy about wiki's simply because anyone can add information into them. I did, however, enjoy learning how to make one!

Thanks everyone!

just for fun

Hey guys!

In my African American Literature class we are reading the autobiography, "I know why the caged bird sings." While reading the book, my professor is also showing us the film.

I thought it was funny and wanted to share with you something that a teacher in the movie said:

"I am a teacher because I love chalk, blackboards, and books."

Doesn't sound like this teacher would adjust too well to the new ways of learning!

2/20 task # 3

• The Hobbs text, the 6 PLS principles, and the NCTE standards all completely corresponde into the same ideas and same goals.

• Using the media will definitly gain our students attention and motivate them to do work. No student wants to write papers or book reports when they can be blogging, creating films, or writing scripts about something they enjoy based on a television show or a movie. Can we blame them?!

• All of the ideas and research we have read about for the tasks assigned to us this week make a huge connection and these readings were a huge eye opener for me. Hobbs proved that introducing media into the curriculum has had positive outcomes and best of all: students are enjoying it. It is definitly something that I would like to try in my classroom one day. The last thing I want to do is bore students with those horrible vocabulary books and filling in the blanks with the correct word.

• Children and teenagers love television. There are so many creative lesson plans that we as future educators can come up with to relate what students enjoy, into their classwork. Students need to enjoy their classwork and walk away from school at the end of the day understanding all of the content that they took in throughout the day. Bringing media into the classroom is one of the best ideas yet.

2/20 - Task # 2

• Hobbs conducted a research assignment in 1998 which focused on Concord High School and how teachers are using media literacy in their classrooms. The study was based on eleventh graders and Hobbs not only observed in the classrooms, but also had interviews with the teachers and the students. She collected "notes, videos, lesson plans and assignments" for her data (13).

• I found this study to be very interesting and I especially liked the fact that the teachers had no trouble admitting that they were having a difficult time adjusting to the new curriculum as well as struggling to understand it. This goes back to our last reading when we said that students are now teaching the teachers. It helped me to feel less ancious knowing that adults are also going through a huge adjustment with the change in lesson plans and I was comforted in knowing that students were so engaged in the lesson because it was something they could 100% relate to. I am always afraid of going to student teach and not having students participate or engage in conversation. Well, with this type of curriculum, I don't think I'll have to worry about that anymore.

• Hobbs mentions a variety of positive aspects that can come about from using media literacy. Students will be participating through conversation, writing, reading and observing. It wasn't until I read these positive aspects that can come from using media in a classroom, that I slowly began to accept this idea.

• I think Hobbs' research is very relevant and something I will definitly keep in mind when I go out into the field. All of her research correspondes with the six principles and they should all be conducted in classrooms.

2/19 - Task # 1

I found chapters one-three in the Hobbs text and the six principles of media literacy that PLS works with to be practically identical.

The ideas within the text and the ideas within the principles want the same goal: to integrate media into English Literature. By doing so, educators hope to enhance students writing and critical thinking, views of cultural beliefs and customs, and to help their students see through various lenses.

"...urges English educators to incorporate a wide range of texts including films, television, advertising, then Internet, music, and popular culture." (Hobbs, 7) I find this quote to be very interesting because all of the items listed create an entirely different English classroom from what we are used to. Also, these are the things that most teenagers are spending endless amounts of their time on! Of course engaging it into lessons with create motivation and more interest!

My question though, is: does this mean we get rid of books in the classroom?

"...recommends that teachers make learning a long-term, thining-centered process, providing for rich, ongoing assessment and guidance" (Hobbs, 8).

This is where I believe Blogging comes in with all of its benefits. If students blog, it will enhance their understanding of topics and assignments being done in the classroom, the learning will continue outside of the classroom, and it helps create an on-going atmosphere.

Like I said above, the similiarities are the same. I think engaging media related work into an English classroom is a huge step which many of us are not prepared for or ever saw ourselves teaching. Hobbs showed us that the curriculum based around media worked out very well for Concord High School. All we need to learn now, is how to teach it.

Nervous? I sure am.

ESchools Article

It looks like we will indeed be seeing many changes in classrooms within in the next one to five years. That almost sounds like a long time since technology is consistantly changing. Part of me wants to send this article to every school district so that they become aware of the changes that are headed their way and what their focus should be on. There will be a great deal of training needed for teachers that do not know much about technology and the principal needs to be just as aware in case of extra needed support.

I find it interesting that I am well aware of what blogs, wikis, photo shop, etc. are capable of and how to use them, yet so many people are still yet to even hear these words. My boyfriend's cousin is a teacher right out of graduate school and told me that she has never heard of a blog or pod cast being used in her school and she is actually hoping that these tools will not "take over" her classroom.

Seems like there is still a lot of catching up to do!

"Barack"

Will Richardson seems very thrilled about the invention of the "Barack" website. I signed up for an account and browsed through the site for a little bit. It does seem pretty interesting. Right on that site you can create a blog, create a list of friends, make your own profile and comment to everyone you communicate with. I am not sure if I would use it as one of my primary tools in a classroom, but it is definitly something I would recommend my students to look into and try.

Say goodbye to google?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/business/14google.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

Check this out!

http://www.9wsyr.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=5f5644c7-c5c6-4401-b76f-f46391d98910

'a less literate workforce'

There are so many reasons why there is a literacy decline in the United States.

What I find most interesting about this fact, is that while so many are chanting for more technology, couldn't the emphasis and smuthering of technology be the exact reason why people are becoming so illiterate?

"There is no time that I can tell you in the last hundred years" ' where literacy and numeracy have declined." So this was not an issue for quite some time but now that technology is advanced and can be accessed anywhere, we are finding literacy and numeracy to be a problem. Interesting.

I am choosing not to comment about the section on immigration. That is obviously something that I cannot control and I do not feel like getting into politics. I can however, in my home and in my classroom, control the amount of time that is spent using technology.

Technology...upgrading....everywhere...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNT1Y2sLLKU

"Future School"

For such a small article, I disagree with so much.

• "Why is everything massified in the system, rather than individualized in the system?"

Am I the only one that see's this idea to basically be impossible? It would take so much more time and money to individualize everything for every student. Sure it sounds like an interesting idea, but kids change their minds all of the time. Aren't teachers under enough stress to begin with, let alone have to teach certain things of certain interest to certain students when they can just change their minds over night?

• "Toddlers School of the Future"

Open 24 hours?? What five year old is going to want to go to school at 3 in the morning? What exhausted parent is going to want to take their child to school at 3 in the morning? Extending the hours is one thing and I am sure a beneficial one for many families, but 24 hours sounds pretty ridiculous to me.

• "If you want kids to really learn, they've got to love something"

Well of course! I couldn't agree with that more. But the point of children going to school is to be exposed to a number of different subjects. How are they going to know what they "love" before learning anything?

• "Why should kids arrive at the same time and leave at the same time?"

Granted many of us college students prefer early morning, late afternoon or even evening classes, we have been able to determine what time of people we are based on the discipline and routines we lived by for years before coming to college. Having a set schedule requires discipline, rules, and regulations. I think breaking these categories would be a huge mistake.

Hey everyone,

I am reading the book 'A Million Little Pieces' by James Frey.

I remember there being a lot of negative things said about this book. Something about plagiarism or false information? I believe Oprah had a lot to say about it too?

Does anyone know anything about this? I am very interested in knowing.

Emotional Moment...

I was getting my hair done yesterday when the hairdresser asked me what I was planning to do when I graduate from college. "I am going to be an English teacher" was all I said when instantly this woman got tears in her eyes.

She explained to me that she was very emotional about my decision because she was originally from the Philippians and it was not until she moved here that she learned how to speak English at Syracuse University.

She was truly touched by her English teacher because he not only took the time to help her with her language and speech, but he introduced her to novels and plays such as Shakespeare and many others. She is now very literate and does not think she would be without the help of that English teacher.

She and her son (who is now 16) each read a play or a novel every week together and then discuss it in full detial. She said that she and her family are so grateful for their education and ability to read because they know what it is like to not have those skills. She came from a very illiterate town where education was forbidden.

She also mentioned that she never saw a computer before moving here and now her son is showing her how to use the internet because he is learning to use it in school. She is fascinated and excited that her son is learning so many things that she never had the opportunity to learn at his age. She simply ended her story with: "we are learning together."

YouTube Video

That was the first time I ever saw that video and it can definitly be related to what we discussed in class the past two weeks.

• The video really hit me with the reality that paper & pencil and chalk & blackboards are becoming extinct.
• The computer is faster, makes editing easier, and is more accomodating.
• Clicking on one website will lead one to thousands of other sites which will help students to explore, learn and teach.
• It will connect them to other students and educators all over the globe which will enhance their learning experience.
• The computer and internet is the new tool for learning. School districts need to understand this and catch up with it!
• Are we teaching the machine, or is the machine teaching us? We really are the web.
• Endless possibilities and exchanged learning with the web/wikis/blogs/personal websites.

Task # 1

This article was pretty interesting and really breaks down what we as teachers need to do in order to break the "traditional" settings in classrooms.

• "We need to unlearn the idea that we are the sole content experts in the classroom, because we can now connect our kids to people who know far more than we do about the material we’re teaching."

Could this idea be any more true? Many students are far more advanced then I am with technology so there is no way I can walk into a classroom expecting them to sit there and watch me try to conquor their brains when we can all show each other how to work and use different tools in the classroom. I need to walk into a classroom knowing that we are all teachers and we are there to teach other. (Do you think this is something that needs to be explained to the students?)

This specific notion of "unlearning" completely connects with Curriki. We now have the ability to show our students what others are learning globally and that they will not only be learning just from me. They will be learning from other numerous teachers and students.

• "We need to unlearn the idea that learning itself is an event. In this day and age, it is a continual process."

All of us have done this: as soon as class is over, we close that notebook and think "thank God this class is done for the day." This is not the case anymore. With the use of blogs (especially) and wiki, students are able to continue their learning not only outside of the classroom, but at any time they want. I must come on my blog at least once or twice a day to see if anyone has responded to something I wrote, to see if my classmates have added anything new to their blogs, and to research something new that I can post. My learning does not end at 6:50 on Wednesday evenings. It continues for the rest of the week. This is something we must expose our students to.

• "We need to unlearn the practice that teaches all students at the same pace. Is it any wonder why so many of our students love to play online games where they move forward at their own pace?"

This thought never occurred to me until I really thought about it. I can remember back to the fifth grade when I could not grasp the material we were doing in math. A large percent of the students understood and moved on to the next lesson. For others, such as myself, that did not understand, had no other choice but to move on to the next assignment before even learning the first! The teacher was so content with getting that particular lesson done before the end of the day, that she was not even focusing on those who were falling behind.

This is one of the worst things we can do in a classroom. What good is rushing a lesson going to do when not everyone understands what is going on? I do see a problem here though: One teacher, thirty students. Do we need more professionals in a classroom so that one can move along with the students that understand and one can really focus in and help those that don't?

"Just more data"

My jaw dropped when I read that every student in that school would be receiving a laptop to use in their classrooms. That is completely astonishing! On top of that, teachers are being trained on how to use this technology??!! This is a dream come true!!

I cannot even begin to imagine how much more these students will be learning with this opportunity literally at their fingertips. Hopefully this is a break through for many schools and more grants will be awarded so that eventually, every student in every school will be given this gift.

I was actually very suprised to hear how many laptops can be taken borrowed at our own library here on campus. The world of technology is making huge progress!

Should we be suprised?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/parenting/02/09/dating.abuse/index.html

Pres.Bush did what??

For starters, I would like to make it clear that I am not trying to bring in any feelings of politics throughout this writing.

I am utterly shocked and disgusted about the article I just read. I almost don't even know what to write right now.

If President Bush continues to cut school budgets that is obviously necessary, otherwise we would not be asking for it, what will education come to? Several times I have heard him say that education is one of the most valuable and important things in this country. Clearly I agree otherwise I would not want to become a teacher, but what is going to happen when we do not have the funding that is needed for our schools? How are we going to enhance our students educations? How will we prepare them for their future jobs?

All along we have been trying to answer the question of how are we going to teach and prepare our students for jobs that aren't even created yet. Well, we certainly will be clueless if the President continues to decline the educational income.

This is a huge struggle we are going to be faced with as teachers and I honestly have no idea how we can personally fix it. Is it even our job to personally fix it?

Woohoo Curriki!!

• Curriki sounds pretty amazing!

• I am basically dumbfounded by this website because if this makes sense, I am beginning to feel a little overwhelmed with how many resources we can choose from to help us and other teachers enhance our work.

• Just think of how many different ideas a classroom of 30 students can come up with. Now we have the entire world to connect with to see and use their ideas? That's mind blowing!! This will give us so many different lessons we can use in a classroom and so many different ways on how to teach them.

• I kind of feel like for a large portion of the class we have been discussing how technology has made accessing classwork, getting help, and organizing more simple to students. Well, now it's our turn for things to be a little more simple with Curriki!

• I have 2 questions about Curriki : Is it considered Plagiarizing if you use someone else's lesson plan? Can student teachers use these lesson plans?

ThinkQuest

How many other opportunities are 'they' going to come up with for students to communicate?!?! This website seems by far the most interesting, fun, and productive way for students to express themselves, write in proper form, and compete with others from all around the world!

This idea seem's so challenging and it is something I would love to get my students involved in. Not only will this challenge the students as writers, but it will also challenge them as thinkers and how to collaborate all of their ideas with other members of their team.

This is one of my favorite opportunities yet!

NCTE Position Statement

I am a little confused about this article.

I agree that technolgy is dramatically increasing the amount of opportunities students have to express themselves in ELA classrooms. However, I think I am confused on how or why teachers should ''treat the reading and writing of new media texts in any different manner?''

I am not even sure how one would go about that task. If or when I have a blog set up for classroom discussion, I would expect my students to write on it as though they were writing an essay or a paper and I would explain that in a very clear manner.

Did I interpret this correctly?

Kristin

Interesting Fact..

I just got off the phone with my mother who is a special education teacher for the third, forth and fifth grade.

Now, knowing that my mother just learned how to use the laptop we bought her for Christmas (even though she didn't even know how to turn on the computer we've had in our house for 14 years) and just learned how to text message, I was extremly curious to know if she even knew what pod-casting or blogging is.

To my extreme suprise, my mother, the technology disabled, informed me that she will be learning how to pod cast in her school next month. Although she did not belittle the idea of technology in her classroom, she is dumbfounded over the fact that her principal expects her to use technology with her students when more then half of them can't even write their own names on a piece of paper.

Aside from that, 1 out of her 13 students has a computer at home, but that student does not even know how to use the computer.

It is situations like these, that are more realistic than we want to realize, that technology should not become the one and only source of learning in a classroom. How can we even think of libraries only being accessed online and research being done online when not everyone is capable of doing it?

Task # 3 - Assign. 2

There were so many things I found intersting in Will's pod-cast presentation!
(and I'll admit it..i took notes during it...haha I know..I'm a dork!)

1. When Will was discussing the clip that he saw on youtube, he made a very good point that people that are present in a situation and can get it recorded, are exposing the information before newscasters and reporters even have the opportunity to get to the scene. This proves that we all have the opportunity now to be journalists of our own kind and that we are consuming news and taking over. (this is familiar to my last blog regarding flattner #4) Having all of this technology allows us to become more intelligent and exposed people then we already are.

• I really enjoyed the information Will brought into his presentation about Politics, Politicians, and blogging. By blogging to such people, our opinions become more valid simply because we can respond to the politicians and what they are discussing. Aren't our opinions especially important now regarding the world we are living in? So much information from people just like us is making a difference in the world of politics and I cannot find the words to emphasize how important and fascinating I think this is.

2. SCHOOLS:

We as teachers obviously want to teach our students as much as we possibly can and expose them to as much information as we can. All of the tools on the internet are making that desire that we teachers have, come true. Not only are students learning in classroom, but they can continue to learn what we want them to all the time with the internet. The fact that students can continue to learn outside of the classroom walls is the most amazing thing that can happen in the academic world.

3. I was fascinated by the dicussion board that was put up for students in particular classes in June - before school even started. This gave the students a time to bond, identify themselves, discuss what they expected from the teacher and other students. I bet that if we all had the chance to do this before the semester began, we would develop more friendships and less fear to ask a classmate for help when we needed it. I think this was an amazing idea!!

4. The thought had never occurred to me until I heard Will say it : One of the best benefits of having a blog is REFLECTION. So many students "draw a blank" when they get put on the spot in classrooms. So many students are shy and refuse to articulate their ideas in front of others. So many students are afraid of being teased or called stupid if they suggesst something different in the classroom. The blog gives these students the chance to get their ideas out there and to still have their classmates and teacher respond. To so many students, the blog is actually becoming their classroom where they have no fear of expressing their thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

5. The final thing that I found interesting about Will's pod-cast presentation was calculous being done on blogs. There are so many students out there, just like myself, that can remember certain steps to solve problems when they are in a classroom, but can't remember them when they get home and begin their homework. The fact that students all over the world and in the classroom can post steps to the homework and show examples to one another on how to complete an assignment is one of the best things that could happen for a student. My life would have been so much easier throughout High School if these types of tools were available to me then.

Task # 2 - Assignment # 2

• " More than ever, we can all now be producers, not just consumers." (p.95 - Freidman)

This is what I preceived to be one of the most valuable pieces of information in this section of the text. Before we go into a classroom and teach students, we ourselves need to be familiar with the technology and what we can actually learn from it. To me, this quote says an enormous amount. Teachers need to explore blogging and wiki and podcasts so that not only they can learn but they can see what their students will learn.

Every single one of us now has the ability to produce, share, and extend our thoughts, our work, and our opinions with people all over the world. To an extent, I don't think that most of us realize how amazing this is and I don't think alot of us take advantage of this 24/7 opportunity.

This #4 flattener opened my eyes to how much is on the internet and how much more I should be exploring it. I think the most important thing to do before we can even answer "what should ELA teachers be teaching our students" is to teach ourselves. Once we accomplish that task, we can successfully go into a classroom, demonstrate how to use blogs, wiki's, podcasts (etc) and then students will be exposed to a whole new world of how to learn.

• I was dumbfounded by this fact : "A new blog is created every 7 seconds. There are more then 24 million blogs already and the number is growing at about seventy thousand a day." (p.119) Can you even begin to imagine how many of that number are students exploring this amazing new world?

Task # 1 still continued.

The third website which I have never heard before is called

3. The Way Back Machine (http://archive.org)

• This website is like the memorial library here on campus, but better. You can seriously find anything you want and/or need on this website. You can find journals, documents, articles and databases that can be dated as far back as you can imagine.

• It provides audio clips, pictures, and video clips of the most recent and not so recent news clips and interviews!

• It also provides "copyright" and all of the informtation you could ever need to quote and use for MLA and APA formats.

Task # 1 con't...

Another site that I am totally unfamiliar with is:


2. Phraseexpress (http://www.phraseexpress.com)

• The point and benefits of having this program are that as you are typing for the first time after downloading the software, the program keeps a memory of all the things you type. So the next time you go to type and IM or write an e-mail to someone, if you begin writing the word you want, the program finishes the word for you. The point of having this program is that it is quicker to type and requires less time at the keyboard. (It's also like using the T9 button on our cell phones when we are texting)

• The program also does spell checks, grammar checks and punctuation checks as you are typing and fixes them for you as you continue to type. When you have made an error it will be highlighted in yellow and you can see the computer fixing the error for you.

(There is a video clip on the website so you can see how it actually works!)

Task # 1 - Assignment # 2

While I was reading chapter 2 in Walrick's text, there were several sites that I have never heard of before.

1. "Backflip" (http://www.backflip.com)

Before I even begin to describe the benefits of this tool, I recommend that you guys sign up for it because it is awesome! As soon as I finished reading all of the things you can do when having backflip, I signed up right away.

• Backflip is the easiest way to save and share important things you see on the Web. With Backflip's organization and powerful search, you'll never lose anything thats interests you again.

• "As you discover interesting Web pages, use the Backflip it! button to save them and Backflip will organize them for you. Then, simply go to your Backflip account and you'll find all of your favorite pages filed in your personal directory -- which you can access from any computer."

• Backflip makes it easy to share and discuss the interesting things you find online with your friends. All you have to do is enter the email addresses of anyone you'd like to share with, and Backflip takes care of the rest. Your friends are notified and they can view Web pages you select, whether they're Backflip members or not. They can make comments, view each other's comments, and if you choose, they can add more interesting pages.

I think that "Backflip" relates to the teachers comments in the article we read last week. It helps with organization, it's fast, it's easy to use and sign up for, and it just makes life easier. Could we ask for anything more?!

Chapter 2 - Walrick

I found Chapter 2 in the Walrick text to be rather interesting because of all the websites, possible worksheets that we could use and metaphors the author uses to guide us though his ideas.

• I was a little confused on page 21 when he states, "If all our children learn to do is read, they will not be literate."

How true can this statement be? Before technology and computers became known and advanced, all we had to learn from was books. Therefore, how can we say that our children will not be literate just from reading when that's what has made people literate all along?

• I agree that we as educators have lost a certain amount of control over the information we teach because children are more or less aware of how to gather more information on their own. Just because this may be true, I do not think that their should be a computer provided in every classroom for every student so that teachers can become less involved and enforced with their students.

• Since computers are becoming a main learning source in schools, it is important to show student all of the different search engines that are available to them and how they are to be used. It is also important for us to emphasize that "search engines are wonderfully powerful tooks, but they cannot think." Students need to learn how to quote and how to develop their own ideas based on the information they read from the search engine. They cannot begin to use these types of tools assuming it will make the work load more easy for them.

• I LOVE the SEARCH chart that is provided to us on page 34. I think this is an excellent way for us to teach our students how to look for information and how to synthesize it on their own. If I have to conduct a class using computers one day, I will definitly be using this chart to guide them through.

Kris

TIME Magazine

I truly disagree with the article "Don't Fear The Digital" and for several reasons.

• "Not only can I put words together at 10 times to speed of using pen and paper, but I can transfer those words to the digital realm, where they are can edited, spell-checked..."

Granted the increased speed of being able to do our work is an amazing thing, I do not think it's good that people constantly use spell check or editing to fix their work for them. By allowing the computer to fix all of the mistakes for us, what are we learning?

• ...."the total number of hours spent in front of a screen has not increased over the past 10 years."

Even if that is so, most of this article discusses how students are mostly online to go on MySpace, Facebook, to talk to their friends, etc. So even if the time people are spending in front of a screen has not increased, who says it is being used for educational purposes?

• "Today 82% of kids are online by the seventh grade...what they love about the computer is that it offers radio/cd, games, movies, e-mail, IM..."

All of my cousins are online. When I am over their houses, they are listening to the radio while talking to their friends and emailing someone. If the purpse of this article was to convince me that most people are online to learn something or do school work, I am not convinced at all. I totally see the difference of when people use their laptops at home and when they use them in school. More often when they are used at home, they are used for "play time".

• Yes the internet is conveinent, simple, fast. But why does everyone have to be available and in touch with each other 24/7? There are so many times when I shut off my cell phone and turn off the computer because my brain is literally tired of all that comes along with these devices.

• What truly happened to quaility family time? Over the break my mother, father and I were in the living room and the three of us were on our laptops at the same time. Realizing how disgusting the image was, we all shut our computers off and discussed what we were reading lately, what was going on with the War, who we were going to vote for, for the next election. Families are being torn apart because of a keyboard and a screen and I do not see any benefits with that situation at all.

Kris

"Girl Power...." Article

I have a few different views about the article : "Girl Power in a Digital World.." by Bronwyn T. Williams.

- Growing up, I usually felt intimidated by the male gender in the classrooms. Boys were more likely to call out and say the answer that I was patiently raising my hand to say and they were a very big distraction. I do not think that I was ever less encouraged for my efforts and I cannot say that I have ever seen a female experience that either. (lucky for me huh?)

- The article seems to have a negative perspective on competition in classrooms. To an extent, I think competition is a good thing because it motivates students to work a little harder and try new strategies to get the answer a little faster then other students. Granted the article says that boys are more then often socialized to compete, why should we discourage girls to do so?

group meeting # 2

My group and I met today for the second time and discussed what we will be doing for our class presentation. Ashley, Lindsay, Nichole and I broke down what we plan on doing and assigned ourselves different parts of the project to research. We will be meeting again next week to put all of our research together and incorportate it into a pod-cast. We are excited about presenting our project to the class and hope you all enjoy the final product!