iPods for Education

The use of iPods has proven to be very useful inside and outside of classrooms. They can keep out the distractions, hold lectures for convenient listening, store information and even look up information with the proper USB connections. Universities such as Brown, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Missouri School of Journalism participated in a program with Apple called iTunes U which use iPods for differentiating instruction. Apple recently offered to provide the service to all universities due to its popularity. The program offers such tools as lectures you can download and recruiting tools. K-12 schools are also using iPods for math, science, reading, history and most of all foreign language. Schools partner up and the use of iPods helps classrooms share their work with their partner classroom.

However, Duke University students and faculty noted a number of complaints. These included short battery life, problems with the shuffle component, copyright issues, ear buds hurting the ears and students not having the skills to utilize the tool. Also, professors think the iPod information should supplement the work in the classroom, not replace it. So the argument remains, is the iPod a useful tool, should it replace classroom time? I say they should not replace classroom time but they can be a very useful tool in the classroom.

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My Presentation!!

Educational Technology Guide

Dr. Christie's website has made it evident that as a teacher I am not only going to have to produce information and lead my classroom, but I am going to have to help build my community, collaborate and facilitate information and work well with my co-workers or team members. I like the idea of having junior interns in the classroom. You can learn so much from kids, they are creative and they like to explore.

The site provides multiple resources for a teacher to use in their classroom. It provides GPS coaching, website coaching, and web design resources. She also provides multiple opportunities to attend her indispensable workshops. This website would be very useful in a classroom with all of the great resources on technology that it provides.

Wikipedia

I am not really surprised about the articles I read on Wikipedia about NPR and Wired. I have always heard Wikipedia was a site that anyone could post or edit information on. Well, there is a tracking system which was put in place by Virgil Griffith, and apparently previous systems were set in place before this one. So someone says, who knows if that is the truth!! This device can track who submits or edits information and from where. This could be useful, however, someone could just go to a friends house and submit information if it was important enough to keep the source a secret.

Of course Wal-Mart and companies of that sort are entering information to make themselves look good. It is easy to do and a lot of people believe whatever they read on the Internet. At the present time Wikipedia can not be trusted and will not be able to be trusted until it is further tested and filtered.

Why Wireless?

Arapahoe High School recently began to offer wireless Internet access to students who owned their own wireless devices. This decision was being questioned so Karl Fisch was asked to write response in the schools newsletter. He said the Internet offers the students a chance to look at their grades, teacher web pages and electronic databases or reference tools.

The Internet offers a wealth of information. Learning occurs outside the classroom, if it did not then what would be the point of homework?! We live in a technology-driven world that is constantly changing so we have to learn to change with it. Our world is constantly connected thanks to the Internet. Fisch said, "Technology is not the goal, but rather it is the enabler that allows us to achieve our goals." The Internet allows the students to be creative, collaborative and connected.

Fischbowl

The Internet is a very useful tool for teachers and students. I personally agree with with the statement "In order to teach it, we have to do it". This is so true. As teachers, we cannot teach students something if we do not learn to do it ourselves. We are always growing with our students, and in order for our students to grow, they have to learn. Computer technology is like history...things in the past reflect the future. The Internet is constantly changing and teaching us new things so we should change and grow with it.

However, I do not think teachers who are not willing to learn should be questioned. I believe teachers, as a whole, have good intentions for their students. Some teachers are just not susceptible to change.

International Classroom Blogs'

The first blog I found was by a second and third grade class at Nelson Central School in New Zealand. The kids work is posted on the site and also pictures of their activities. The blog tells about what they did for the week, and you can also email the teacher and the students. This class blog was very colorful and inviting.

Click here to check it out.



The second class blog I found is a second grade class from Meadowbank School in Auckland, New Zealand, they are a buddy class to the one mentioned above. This classroom has a writing blog along with a class blog, links to other sites, pictures of trips and activities and more. You can also view the children's work and email the teacher. This site was also very inviting.

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Class Blogs'

One blog I found was by a teacher named Mrs. Wells who teaches at a school named Cambridge Elementary in Texas. Her students have a place on the class blog where they can tell about themselves and comment about certain things that go on in class. In her blog she talks about what they have done at school and what is coming up. She mentions a podcast about a musical and book float parade that they had at their school.

She also held one really cool experiment during a whole day of class labeled "I have a Dream". She labeled half of the class with red dots. These students could not eat at the same tables, play on the same equipment during play time or join in during other activities. She then asked them to post on the class blog about their experience. The kids were "shocked" and did not like to be the non red dots. The kids who were the red dots said they liked it because they got to sit on the "good side" of the cafeteria but they disliked not being able to play with their friends who were the red dots.

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The second blog I found was for two fifth grade classes in Detroit. the site had games to play, pictures, a calendar and podcasts. The blog also had old tests for students to print out and practice. The site had a place for parents to look so they could help their children at home. This site was so much better than the first one. It had much more information and many educational links for both student and parent.

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