Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I believe in technology

I believe that technology is a good tool for education, but it is also one that needs to be heavily monitored and regulated. Technology can be used to engage students but it also opens the door for students to use it for noneducational purposes at a time they should not be. Making public student work through blogs can set up problems. I believe all students should in their first blog write that this blog is for educational purposes only that way other people will not be tempted to use it for social means. Children should feel free to have a social blog but they should keep that one separate from their educational blog. I believe this fits for more than just blogs. It can apply to websites and anything else that makes the students educational work public.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Blog a

Georgianna Gatcomb
January 27, 2008
Response Paper

Viewing Responses

Obviously computers are a powerful tool. I think they should definitely be used in the classroom. As one of the students in that first video wrote, he spent 100 dollars on a textbook that he never opened (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o). The teacher of that course might have been able to have the students look online for the same information and it would have only cost a trip to their local library or computer center. One of the bad points of technology is that it can also be a distraction. As one of the girls mentioned, she used face book through class instead of using her computer for something more productive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGcJ46vyR9o). I think that if computers are to be allowed in a classroom there has to be better monitors on them. My high school had protections on the school computers so that game sites and sites like MySpace, couldn’t be visited. The trouble is in college students bring their personal laptops to class and no school can force anyone to have protections on their laptops. I don’t really have a solution for this dilemma, but I believe that if the temptation to use the computer for enjoyment was taken away than computers would be a wonderful thing to bring to class everyday.
I liked when the third video gave ides to use technology to engage students in their learning, but I disagree that it is as easy as the creator of the video says (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEFKfXiCbLw&feature=related). Not everyone has access to all forms of technology. I for one am charged to text message and do not feel it is far to make students or their parents pay more for their cell phone bills. This is also assuming that all students have or can afford a cell phone. I was not given a cell phone until I was 18 years old and my parents will not be getting my brother one until he is 18 years old. I do not own an iPod so what should I do for Podcasting for students who don’t own one? I doubt most schools have enough in their budget to buy and iPod for every student in the school. Although the ideas in this video were wonderful I see a lot of practical problems with using them.
I think online communities, as described in the fourth video, however is a good idea (http://ww.infitethinking.org/2007/03itm-6-and-walls-came-tumbling-down.html). Putting a class online in a community could help the parents to get involved with and know what their children are learning, let the students help each other outside of school and give the teacher feedback on how things are going or could be changed in the classroom. I have less of a problem with this than other uses of technology because most libraries have a computer so students without one in their homes can go to the library and use the online community. I like it is a wonderful idea and I would like to try to implement it in my own classroom.