Final Post

I'm proud to say that all my blog assignments for the semester are complete. When I first registered for this class, I had know idea what to expect. At first I felt somewhat intimidated because there was so much information to absorb. I'm proud to say that I "hung in there" and all in all, I really enjoyed this class. Becoming familiar with Access, blogs and ipods being used in the classroom, was a real treat. The blog assignments in reference to iTunes Universtiy, Dr. Alice Christie, and Carl Fisch were real eye-openers. I'm so excited to be able to implement the various concepts that I feel will help in instructing my students once I become a teacher. The one post that we had to make to our blog that touched me profoundly, was the "Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. When faced with a crisis, I will always remember his words about the "brick wall".
As I said earlier, I really enjoyed this class. If I had to take it again, I would. Mr. Wakeman proved to be a very competent instructor who "bent over backwards" to make sure I understood and knew everything I needed to know. The only complaint I have about the class is the excessive amount of assignments given at the end of semester.

iTunes U - WGBH (Boston's PBS Station)

A digital library free to the public, WGBH's "Teacher Domain" on iTunes U features media derived from PBS programs such as FRONTLINE, NOVA, and American Experience. Programs from other public broadcast stations are also available. The domain is divided into three sections representing each grade level - K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The media is designed to enhance teaching and learning skills. Being an elementary education major, I focused primarily on K-5, but did explore the other grade levels. There were nine tracks available, all scientific based. All tracks come with down loadable informational guides to aid teachers in the instruction of the topics. iThough I found all to be very interesting, "A Night in the Coral Reef" was one that stood out. Filmed in an actual reef, the narrator gave a clear explanation of the activities taking place while also providing information on the more prominent sea creatures. In the video "Observe Clouds", students are encouraged to pay more attention to the clouds in that they change by the second.
Here is another example of a wonderful resource which can be used to make the learning experience more interesting for the student. It also provides an added mechanism by which a teacher may be able to provide a clearer understanding of what is being taught. Another site I'm sure to refer back to once I become a teacher.
For more information on these videos and more like them, visit WGBH-Teachers Domain

"Living the Lesson"

"The Edible Schoolyard" was a video showing students at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California beginning their day, not in the classroom, but in the organic garden they are growing together. The garden is said to be a "learning lab for social studies, math, science, and life. The children grow, cook, and eat the food produced by their hands. The children seem to comprehend better with they are taught using "the hands on" method. As well as teaching the children ecology, the garden helps them to learn to build communities along with cooperating with others. Children who may be good in math, science, and English, may not necessarily be good with their hands so this is good experience for them. The same applies with someone who is not good in the before mentioned subjects but good with their hands, this give them the opportunity to explore a field in which they may excel. The idea for this program was that of Alice Waters in 1994 to improve school lunch programs.
Awesome is the word I use in describing "A Night in the Global Village". This video profiles the Global Gateway Program taking place at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville Arkansas. The program allows students (in this episode the children are from the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning in Denver, Colorado) to experience living as others do in "developing" countries. The five acre ranch is set up in communities designed to resemble those of the country they represent. The children experience first hand what it's like to live without little or no food and water, live in abodes not "fit for living, and to share and cooperate. What better way to teach a lesson than to live the lesson.
As a future educator, I continue to be impressed by the types of resources available to enhance the learning experience. Both of these programs, which are hands on, would be great to use.

iTunes University

iTunes University, part of the iTunes Store, contains educational content(audio and video) that can be downloaded at no charge to a ipod or iphone. There are courses and topics for K-12, colleges and universities, and beyond. Information is provided by top universities such as Cornell, Duke, Oxford, and Stanford. PBS stations also provide information as well as famous museums and other cultural institutions. iTunes has an introductory video which allows the user to preview the site and get some insight on how to use it.
Business, history, mathematics, science, and teaching & education are just a few of the categories in which information, courses, series, and lectures can be found. An individual university can be chosen in which a page will appear listing all they have to offer through iTunes. When looking for a specific course such as Western Civilization, all files related to that course (audio and video)are listed. Some courses and series are ongoing so a person is allowed to subscribe to the course or series and updated information will be downloaded in the podcast section of iTunes. There are thousands of tracks available to be downloaded. It's learning on the go.
iTunes U is useful as a student in that if I need information on a course or topic, I can download the information and refer to at my leisure.

Using iPods in Education

Introduced by Apple in 2001, iPods are the top selling media devices in the United States. Many hold anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 songs, as well as enables the owner to watch movies, videos, play games, etc... The easy to use features, along with the amount of storage capacity also contribute to the popularity of the iPod. As of late, iPods are being used in the education arena to establish their benefits as a learning tool.
In order to "encourage creative uses of technology in education and campus life", Duke University gave 1600 Freshmen 20GB iPods in August of 2004. The Center for Instructional Technology formulated a study to evaluate how the iPods were used academically and their benefits. The results of that study stated that iPods; reduced the need for physical material for both faculty and students, lessened visits to the library and labs in search of resource material, useful for recording purposes, increased student interest and participation, and "enhanced support for individual learning preferences and needs." iPods are not just being used on the college level.
Mrs. Vanessa Levin, a ESL Pre-Kindergarten teacher in Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas. has created a web site entitled, "pre-kpages" which is geared toward educators and parents of young children. There is a page on the site, "Using iPods in the Early Childhood Classroom", where Mrs. Levins discusses ways in which the iPod is an effective tool in the classroom. Tips on how to use the iPod in various phases of the curriculum along with creative ideas are given. This is a great site to visit.

Dr. Alice Christie's Educational Technology Guide

Dr. Alice A. Christie, a President Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University. She also earned a Ph. D. in Educational Technology and Language and Literacy from Arizona State. Dr. Christie travels nationally and internationally speaking and conducting workshops on "how technology can enhance teaching and learning." Her website is designed to assist educators with the integration of technology in their classrooms. The site consists of sections with instructions on how to teach searching the web, web design, as well as a gallery of Dr. Christies' photos and her publications. The section that caught my interest was Educational Technology which aids teachers instructing K - 12. Before going any further, you are asked to view Dr. Christie's video "We Are All Co-Learners".
This video presents insight on how productive Dr. Christie's classes are. Her combination of interns, students (usually middle school), and teachers together in a class, is a brilliant idea, whereas the outcome is beneficial to all involved. I was really impressed with the fact that the students work closely with the teachers teaching them what they have learned.
The Educational Technology page, provided resources, optional links, and examples on topics such as, Discovering Art in a Web 2.0 World, Educational Portals, Emerging Technologies, Internet Safety, Multimedia, and Podcasting, just to name a few.
As a future educator, this is another useful site providing resourceful information useful in many technological ways. When needing assistance with technology in the classroom, not only will this site be of use to me, but also to my students.

Wikipedia-How reliable is it?

For those not familiar with Wikipedia, it's basically an online "encyclopedia" used by millions of people daily. Whether information is needed on a person, place, or thing, it can be found on Wikipedia. Students find this site especially useful when seeking information for reports and research papers. The question is, how reliable a source is Wikipedia?
Due to the fact that the site is maintained by its users (the general public), "anyone can edit" the information on Wikipedia, which has put the website under a microscope. The facts entered into the site are not verified. To find out who was changing the information, a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, Virgil Griffith, created the Wikipedia Scanner. The scanner is able to trace the IP address of the person(s) changing information. It was discovered that the majority of people doing the editing, are those who have a personal interest at stake. For instance, an IP address was traced back to Walmart after someone changed information about wages and a statement made by the owner of Walmart, from negative to positive. Famous political figures along with large well known companies, have been known to change any information not in their favor, to more favorable. In light of this develop, if using Wikipedia, it is wise to consult a couple more sources to make sure the information is correct.