Current Events
I am going to use this space to include the current events that I have posted for the class.
Current Event 1
The Googlization of Everything
I found this very intersting blog post about Google. It definitely made me think about my own way I research on the internet and I am the first one to admit that I will "Google" it, or even tell my student to do the same. In the podcast it tells us how smart Google is because depending where you are searching from, it will give you different website to go to. I have noticed if I do a search at home with my computer from Canada or at school, Colombia, different websites appear for the same search. This can also be very frustrating, especially when a lot of Spanish websites appear. The article also gives us some tips on how to be better researches and how ingenius Google is.
The Googlization of Everything
Current Event 2
Why Teachers Should Tweet
I have just sighned up to twitter and found this article interesting. I only thought of twitter as a place to let people know what you were doing at any given time. This article makes me think about twitter in a more professional way. It is a great wasy to engage in professional learning communities.
Why Teachers Should Tweet
Current Event 3
Steven Jobs
The current event that I have chosen to share this week is passing of Steven Jobs. As I sit typing this on my MacBook Pro I can’t help but think how he has shaped society. He was truly an inspiration.
Steve Jobs, Apple 'visionary', dies aged 56
Current Event 4
One Laptop Per Child
I was looking on Ted talks to find a presentation about education and technology when I came across Nicholas Negroponte's one laptop per child video. It was dated 2006, so not really a current event, however after watching the video and doing a quick search on the internet I found the webpage that supports this project.
The project's goal is to give students in developing countries their very own laptops, hence the name of the project. This is so beneficial for students that are in romate locations because they are so cut off from the world. The laptops are used for research, making videos, writing, and collaboration. It makes me think, if they can do all that, then definitely we can do it here too.
Video
Webpage
Current Event 5
Painful Lessons in School Media Use
As we have been working on our blogs and soical networking I came across this article about two teachers that were suspended because of comments written on their blogs and facebook accounts. As teachers we must always be aware of what we are doing inside and outside of school, one may not agree with it, but I think that we as teachers are held to a higher social standard than other professionals.
For educators, painful lessons in social media use
Current Event 6
Technology, More Than A Tool A New Skill
The title of this article, Technology as a Skill, Not a Tool, caught me eye because I see technology as a tool. I see it as a tool to present students' work. I see it as a tool because that is how we use it in our school and we even discuss how it is JUST a tool that the students need to know. While reading the post/artlcle it made me think about how I can change my thinking about technology. Stop thinking about it as a tool and start teaching the skills that students need to know. For example I am starting a unit on character development in my reading class, this article got me thinking that I could do a unit about teaching the skills students need in technology. Two of the skills mentioned where organizing digital resources and evaluating digital content (something I find myself still stuggling with). If we are teaching the skills in one class, hopefully the students will be able to transfer their knoweldge of what they have learned into other suject areas.
Technology More Than A Tool, A New Skill
Current Event 7
You're A 21st Century Teacher
21 Signs You're a 21st Century Teacher relates to everything that we are learning about in the course. It is a breakdown of 21 ways to implement the tools that we are learning about in the class. As I read this I realized that I have a long way to go before I end up here. I also believe that the school that I am working at has a long way to go to get to the 21st century teacher. It is a process that must be implemented and planned for, almost a new way of teaching units and thinking about best practice for teaching.
21 Signs You're a 21st Century Teacher
Current Event 8
Tweeting Our Way to Nov. 11
In the article, “Tweeting our way to Nov. 11: 'Clicktivism' or just a modern way to remember?” from the Edmonton Journal is another example of the important role that technology plays in our lives.
Current Event 9
Hashtags
This week I am posting a blog post about the most used hashtags by educators. If you are new to Twitter I think that this post would be helpful as there is just SO MUCh information out there that it can be hard to navigate through it all.
#Top12 Teacher Hashtags#
Current Event 10
No Technology in the Classroom
After learning some of the Web 2.0 tools I came across an article that was reporting that technology was NOT allowed in the school until junior highschool. This made me think about the technologies that I use and the way that it impacts our students. Sometimes I am not sure that they truely understand how to properly use a blog or wiki, that it is not just there for each of them to post "stuff" it is actually there for collaboration and then I think, really they are only 9 years old, what type of collaboration am I expecting from them? It also makes me think about teaching and technology as we are to be implementing 1 IWB lesson for math, language, and POI per 6 day cycle. Making these lessons ACTUALLY interactive is very difficult, and if it is not interactive it then becomes very teacher centered learning, with the teacher standing at the front going through the slides, but just because we are using technology it is suppose to be better....
Here are some articles that really made me think.
Does Technology Matter in the Classroom?
No Technology in My Classroom Blog
College 2.0: Teachers Without Technology Strike Back
"Teach Naked" Effort Strips Computers From Classrooms
Why Some Ohio Schools Ban All Tech in the Classroom
This will conclude my current events for the class. I hope that you have enjoyed them!
