Blog #5: Vocab Tech for Toddlers Encourages 'Anytime. Anywhere Learning'

     Sesame Street was my childhood.  As a child of the 80's I grew up with Big Bird, Oscar, and Bert and Ernie.  I never put much thought into the fact that Sesame Street was a trailblazer for children's educational programming.  I guess I never knew life without television that taught you something.  So naturally it only makes sense for educational tools to make their way into our newest technology.  Children's programming crossing over platforms and finding its way on tablets and other forms of technology is a great thing for children.  Todays children are used to using these devices and as long as they are going to use them they may as well learn something while they play.  When you think about it is really no different than my generation sitting down to watch PBS on TV. 
     However, as with any form of technology it is not a substitute for the learning that occurs when a child engages with a parent or another adult.  One thing I liked about this article was how it talked about how a child can use this app with a parent.  Apps and technology are great but a child must still have ample time to talk to and engage with an adult.  The problem that children are arriving to school with a limited vocabulary was even brought up in this article.  A lot of this is due to children and parents not talking a lot with each other.  So as with anything a child can learn from an app but it is no substitute for the learning that occurs with a parent. 

Blog #4: Wanna Work Together? Creative Commons

     The YouTube video by Creative Commons was really short but it gave you a lot to think about.  Copyright privileges and laws are very important to a classroom teacher.  Being able to collaborate and share ideas with others is a huge part of teaching.  As one of my professors say, "There is no need to reinvent the wheel, if you find something that works use it! Just be sure to give the maker credit." I feel that this is an very important part of teaching.  Teachers have great ideas and are able to learn a lot from each other, we also put a lot of work into our lesson plans and such.  I feel like this cc form of copyright is a great compromise to allow another teacher to use your work but still give the maker credit. 
     As I was watching this video and thinking about teachers sharing ideas, I instantly thought of Teachers Pay Teachers.  Any teacher, or future teacher, is familiar with this site.  I see myself using this site a lot when I get my own classroom.  Teachers Pay Teachers is a great way for teachers to share their materials with colleagues all across the country and still preserve their rights to what they created.   I also think about YouTube videos that teachers use when teaching.  I can see myself using both of these tools in my future classroom.  These tools allow myself to connect with fellow teachers across the country.
    

Is Texting Killing Language? My thoughts.

     Is texting killing our language?  That is a question were hear asked and discussed all the time nowadays.  A Ted talk that I recently viewed had a very interesting way of looking at this subject.  (https://goo.gl/gmuwBT) The gentleman speaking in this talk, talked about how texting is not just a from a of writing, it is basically writing like we speak. He spoke about how up until recently we have not had the kind of technology that allowed us quickly put spoken words into writing and send it for instant communication.  Texting is a new form of communication that is for the most part extremely informal.  As I listened to this talk I really began to understand the point that he was trying to make.  I, like many others, often find it really annoying when people don't use basic grammar.  When younger people today butcher the spelling of a word, or spell a word completely different I am often baffled.  An example I have seen recently is the simple word yes spelled yissss.  This is really perplexing because it is not a shortened version, if fact it actually took more time to type the other way.  Although this form of writing will probably continue to drive me nuts, I now see it from a different point of view.   
     When you think of texting as a way to communicate what you are trying to speak in a quick and informal way the new language that is emerging doesn't seem so bad.  If you still have your doubts you can reassure yourself by referring to the portion of this Ted talk that gives examples dating all the way back to 63 A.D. of how our language has been butchered over time.  Although, I will always have my pet peeves about how a younger generation is writing or speaking, I am sure that we will be okay in the end.  As long as a person is able to use the correct "version" of our language at the correct time and place we will continue to move forward as a society and be just fine.

My thoughts on: Big Ideas for Better Schools

     There were many parts of this video that stood out to me.  The one that stood out the most is the part regarding project based learning.  I noticed that this video was an older one, so what stood out to me is how there is now a big push on using project based learning in the classroom.  I, myself, think that this is an amazing idea.  The educator who said, "I have had many students come back, years later, and say, remember that project we did, but I've never had a student come back and say, remember that test we took", was 100 percent correct.  I can remember many projects that I have done but very few tests.  I also really enjoyed that part where the class was relating cars across all subjects.  In math they were calculating financing options, in ELA they were writing cars ads, etc.  I feel that this is very beneficial to students because relating one topic across all areas of curricula not only helps a student learn and remember what they learned, but it also relates what they are learning to real life.
     This clip relates to me, as a future teacher, because it shows some of the progress that we have made, but also how far we still have to go.  The project based learning is a great example.  I think that although there is a huge push right now, we still have a long way to go before all teachers are comfortable with using project based learning.  I hope to be able to use project based learning in my future classroom on a regular basis.  I also think that it is important for teachers to use project based learning in the classroom and not just assign a student a project to do outside of class. What makes project based learning so interesting and engaging is allowing students to work with and learn from each other.  The part on parental involvement also stood out to me. I feel that this part relates to my future because we still have a long way to go in perfecting parental involment.  I think that as a future teacher I must study and learn as much as I can regarding the difficulties of parental involvement in order to try to prepare myself of my own classroom.  I stumbled across an article on Facebook this week that dealt with this exact issue and I finished reading that article with a different perspective than I had when I started.
     This video gives a lot of food for thought to further teachers and teachers in general.  It's eye opening to see how a lot of the topics in this video are still not happening in our schools.

Blog 1: Thoughts on Technology in the classroom.

     For this blog I chose to talk to my son, Hayden, who is in fifth grade at Delk-Henson Intermediate School in Chapel Hill. When I asked him why he wanted to use technology for learning he told me that he thinks it is more fun to do work on a computer.  He said that it is a nice change from writing all day.  In his classroom they all have laptops that they use almost daily for math work.  I asked him if he plays math games and he said no that they don't play math games.  They use a program call ALEKS.  He showed me the program and seems really excited and interested in it.  I found this neat since the program is not game.  It's cool how doing work on a computer can keep students more engaged and interested in the material.
     After talking with my son and seeing what he is doing with technology in his classroom I am interested to see what other types of of technology are out there to use.  I was very surprised and happy to hear that each student has a laptop available for them to use at his school.  I will be very open to using technology in my classroom.  Another thing I've seen used in my classrooms at college is the use of programs that allow the teacher to ask a question, usually multiple choice,  and the students respond to the question via texting on their cellphone.  I found this really cool because everyone can participate, even your shy kids, without fear of having the wrong answer.  This would be a great way to see how well students were grasping the material the teacher is teaching.  I am interested to see if there are any ways to do this without using phones, due to the limitations of cell phones in the classroom and such.  It could be accomplished with iPads and if there were not enough for all kids to have an iPad then you could break the students into groups.
     One area of technology that could be neat to incorporate into the classroom would be the use of augmented reality.  I have seen this demonstrated at a few conference I have had the privilege to attend.  I think that augmented reality would be cool to use because it is engaging to students.  It can also be used in all areas of study and could be easily differentiated.  With iPads becoming more prevalent in the classroom I think that it only a matter of time before this technology is used in most classrooms throughout the United States.
    Technology in the classroom is a great way to help students learn and to keep them engaged.  I believe anything that helps engage students is worth using.  I plan to continue learning about the use of technology in the classroom.