Journal 4

Liz Kolb tackled a tough issue in her article, "From Toys to Tools". She discusses how students can use their own personal cell phones as a tool to communicate with the blogging world. Hats off to her for thinking about this topic and then fully exploring it. I especially appreciate her line that states, "I think something so integral to our students' lives outside of school deserves some consideration". That's true with everything, especially cell phones. She's really saying, hey, instead of banning them right off the bat, lets look at why they're so widely used. Not only did she give the great notion that students could use cell phones as instant recorders and then post them to their personal blogs, but she also gave the pro's and con's to the thought as well. For instance, she stated that blogger.com does not require passwords to view, but that another blogging site did. I thought that she covered her basis well!
QUESTIONS:
1. How else could I incorporate cell phones as a tool for the classroom?
I did love the idea of the blogging, but there are other ideas that I have. For instance, most cell phones come with camera's now, so maybe doing some type of treasure hunt where students have to take pictures and upload them to their computers. Pretend we take a field trip to the zoo and they have to find 3 exotic snakes, or 4 different families of monkeys. The students might even be able to send the pictures directly to me and skip the uploading.
2. How do I make it mandatory for those who can't afford cell phones?
I currently work for a domestic violence and rape crisis center and we have a "cell phone drop off" where people can donate their old cell phones. Maybe the school could set up a drop off site. That way, we could also program the phones for school use, and not have different service providers. Also, companies are often willing to collaborate with schools on ideas like this. Maybe they would donate old phones.

Journal 3

Glenn Bull unveiled the new phenomenon of web videos in his article, "Video in the age of Participation". What a GREAT article this was! I think it really shown a light on what web videos were and how they can be used in the classroom. I think that videos in general are always useful and are a great way to break up a lecture, or use material to relate to an activity. When I present at my current job, I always try and use at least one video. However, my number one complaint, is that their old! I work for a non-profit agency and it's expensive to replace videos! Here's when the luxury of web videos comes in! They can be as current as 30 seconds ago and as cheap as free! Sign me up. I loved how Mr. Bull mentioned the PBS video's about Africa's watering holes!
Questions:
1. How do I get my school to provide subscription to these kinds of services?
Students spend enough money on materials that I don't want to bombard them with the newest latest and greatest tech materials. One way that I can minimize the expense, is by downloading them myself. Many companies have memberships for teachers that are cheaper than the "outsider" membership and it would benefit my students if I could download the videos ahead of time. Also, the article mentioned a non-profit org called Next Vista who provide the videos for free. It's important to research this. Also, we could do a cost/benefit comparison for our school board between DVD's and Web videos... which one is cheaper?
2. What is the quality of these videos?
I know that producers and directors and film editors spend many hours on editing and making sure that the sound and lighting are perfect before the videos go out. Some of the web video's I have seen are poorly made and not always visible. Maybe staying away from sites like You Tube and leaning more towards Next Vista will provide better quality videos. I'm not quiet sure though how to go about sifting through the quality vs. non quality videos.

Journal 2

Authors Justin Hardman and David Carpenter wrote about Web 2.0 in their article, "Breathing Fire into Web 2.0". This article was concerned with the "pieces" of Web 2.0 that are used in the classroom. For example, the authors stated that some faculty were using parts of the program like journal blogs, etc., but were not incorporating the entire software. The Web 2.0 is compatible with other Internet programs so they were trying to encourage students getting the full use out of it. What I want to know is... at what cost? It seems like there are so many options when we are presented with web browsers or software that it can be very costly. Yahoo and Google offer many free services, but really, what comes free? What about focus groups as well. Let's ask our students what they think is student friendly and there advice on different Internet aspects. True, the teacher has the final say, but many students know more about appropriate software than their faculty.
QUESTIONS:
1. How do I as a teacher incorporate this program while making sure my students are using it in an ethical manner?
This question is not fool proof and will rise up no matter what the program is. I like the idea of class blogs...maybe circulating it between students each week. I don't like the idea of individual blogs under my class supervision without having direct aspect to it. The article stated that web pages are one way to take advantage of the Web 2.0 and I agree. I have researched a few schools that have class web pages, and I'm amazed. I would make it a requirement that all students need to research the netiquette website and sign contracts for our class.
2. How do teachers get constructed feedback before it's too late on appropriate software?
This is a fear that I will use a program all year and find out that my students hated it. I think that obviously researching beforehand, like asking other teachers or parents what they think works is a great start. Also, sending out a letter before school starts requiring the students to try out a few programs and bring back their feedback the first week of school might help. However, that might cause more problems than it's worth. I also think that constant evaluations will help a great deal by providing feedback.

Journal 1

Eleanor Yang Su writes in the Union Tribune an article called, "Professors adjust their methods to reach technology-savvy generation". For many reasons, this is a hot-button issue. Both students and teachers have different investments about this topic. It reminded me of a Sociology Professor I had who would never get mad if a cell phone rang in class. He would just simply say, "It's a part of life now, I need to get used to it." Really? Do we just need to get used to sidekicks and cell phones ringing in class, or students who loudly type while anyone is speaking, or my favorite...the student who is listening to their Ipod on "low" even though we can here it two rows back? This article addressed various aspects; from the students who use technology in every activity including class and homework to teachers who are finding ways to keep their students engaged while they continue to live in their technological world. One part of this article really disturbed me. Nigan, a student, stated that she limits her online chatting during class. Oh, well thank you! If we can't pass notes in class or talk to our neighbor, why is it acceptable to chat online while attending class? I understand that technology is now one with almost every activity, but I have seen too many times students who teachers think are taking notes while they're really playing on-line poker.
QUESTIONS:
1. How do we combat the issue of lap-top use for notes and lap-top use for personal while in the classroom?
Fortunately, I want to teach Kindergarten, so I don't think this will be an issue, but it does need to be addressed because it is a problem that is escalating. I think that unless it's a course specifically designed to incorporate on-going computer use, they shouldn't be allowed. I, who admits to having the worse handwriting possible, still can not use that excuse for not wanting to write notes. If a course is designed to use computers, the teachers should put the freeze on it, where the students can only work on what the teacher has set up. Call me old fashion...but I think it works!
2. How do teachers create an online friendly class without completely going online?
I agree with the article when it stated that web pages can be used for preparing students for lecture notes. However, I don't agree with the online test taking. I personally have never learned as much from an online test as I have with a test that I had to take in a classroom due to the fact that I always took it in a group. I think that have online resources is crucial to student learning, but we don't need to spoon feed our students. For example, I have had professors that posted lecture notes before class and left them up even during the online test period. The answers were right there. If we publish online notes or PowerPoint's, I think it should be in a one week window period.