Needleman's Video in the Classroom Introduction

Matthew Needleman wanted a way to encourage his students to read and write. He came up with an idea of using video editing as a way that would be appealing to the students. Some students do not enjoy reading and writing and it is those children that he wanted to inspire the most. By coming up with this idea it allows children to use their own imagination and allows them to tell their own stories. All students need to have something that excites them and makes them want to learn. I think his idea is great for children of all ages.
Link to what Mr. Needleman said when he skyped the class click here.

Podcast

This is sad to say but this was the first time I had ever heard of a podcast. I've never really used I tunes before this and I thought it was just for music. After I started looking into I tunes, I found there was more to it than just music. I realized how exciting it was to explore. Apparently, I am out of the loop when it comes to new technology.

Once I found out what a podcast was, I had a better understanding of it's purpose. Podcasting is a good idea because there are those who can not own a radio station or work at one and this is a way for anyone to have their own talk show. Podcasting can be for anyone for many reasons. To me this is an advancement to the idea of the radio. It is amazing how technology can connect us in so many ways.

While listening to these podcast it gave me a feel for how they are created and what they are about. I found out that podcast are so easy to obtain and that there are so many different podcast out there. The ones I listened to were like conversations or talk shows so they were fairly easy to get caught up in.

One of the podcast I found interesting was ConnectLearning episode 96 Blah, Blah, Blah by David Warlick. He starts off talking about that there are a wide range of court schools, Ada, k-12 with approximately 3,000 students and transient students which range from 14,000 to 15,000. Court community and day school covers 8 geo regions divided into 40 to 45 days with of the students only serving a couple of days. Podcasting and blogging makes students more alert and interested in different ways of learning. Kids don't think of it as technology, just a way of life. Students respond and allow other people to see what they are blogging. This is a way that they represent theirselves as an individual.

Another one I found interesting was Kidcast episode 3 Radio vs. Podcast by Dan Schmit. This one talks about how radio is an ancestor to podcast. Radio can only go so far and content hits the radio and then its gone. Podcast is a timeshift. You have flexibility to replay a podcast when you want to listen to them. Choices in radio stations are scarce in certain towns. Podcasting has 15,000 different podcast stations. Radio is governed by the FCC while Internet has no jurisdiction. There are many podcast coming from all areas of life. Education, financial podcast comes from peer stand point which feels like a place that we could all participate in. Participation with podcast allows flexibility as well as accessibility.

While listening to teaching with smartboards there are different podcast which show how to use a smartboard within a classroom. Different lessons are used to get students interested and more involved with the lessons through new technology. Normally students do not have the opportunity to have hands on experiences.

This week in photography has guests each week that are experts in photography. They explain how they set up their shoots and what they use for setups on their shoots. This covers the latest news in photography as well as the latest cameras that are being introduced. Different ideas in photography in normal conversations are part of their talk show.

After listening to these podcast I realized that they put a lot of thought into how they wanted their podcast to be. They were nicely organized and interesting to the audience. I got a better idea of the different kinds and styles of podcast . Their is so many podcast out there that everyone should find something that interest them. This will help me when we start doing our own podcast.

To listen to the podcasts that I mentioned you must first download iTunes. To do so click here.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

An interesting discussion, Ken Robinson does well at keeping people interested. There are many things that he goes over but it general his topics revolve around our current education system. The two major things that stick out are how we go about raising our future leaders and the controversial ADHD epidemic.

One interesting point he makes is how people are raised these days to not make mistakes who are being penalized for the simple errors so that later on the smallest problem can become a huge one. This starts at a very young age; teachers are constantly driven to make children perfect.

Going over the education system Mr. Robinson brings to light the flaws in creative design. Schools no longer offer the ability to learn about the common arts. Dancing, painting, and creative expression are rare in public schools. This is in part because we are being raised with the idea that we are only destined to work in a business environment.

A massive truth that most people don't realize is how Mr. Robinson talks about the inflation of our education system. Years ago having a college education was more than enough to land any job. Having a high school education allowed you to make a decent living. Yet, this day and age there are people who have a paid education but can't make a living. The demand for a higher means of education is slowly driving the work force down.

Another interesting topic Mr. Robinson covers is the controversial ADHD. Teachers as well as parents are too quick to judge what a child has. Thinking the cure all for a child's poor performance in school is a pill. Some people think that a child not able to focus is a child not ready for a real world. The reality is, you take away the freewill of a child, and what you have left is a drone of society. Creativity is something that is frowned upon the younger years of our lives.

To see Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity click here.

Vicki Davis: Harness your Students' Digital Smarts

This video was very informative. Vicky Davis has learned how to teach her students a way of learning from accessing resources from all over the world. She has also taught them that learning doesn't just come from books but it comes from someones hard work and dedication. She had learned how to adjust her teaching techniques to go along with each changing year. Students in her class use their own interest to help them achieve their learning capabilities. Vicky Davis not only inspired her students but was also taught different things by the students. She created a new world in the classroom for her students using technology.

During the course of the video I realized how EDM is interesting as well as informative. I didn't realize how much fun blogging would be. I think that if we taught children in ways they enjoyed then they would strive to do their best and could excel.

To see Vicki Davis: Harness your Student's Digital Smarts click here.

Did You Know 3.0 and Mr. Winkle Wakes

Did You Know 3.0 made me realize what little I knew about the advances in technology . The facts were just amazing. Technology is ever growing compared with the fact that information is much more easily attainable than compared to when internet was rather new. A good example is that it took 50 years for to radio to reach 50 million buyers and it took only 3 years for the ipod. It's not because the radio didn't have the people to buy them, it's because the people did not have the means to buy them. Everything now is more accessible and better.

The basic idea of this video was how easy information can be gained. Without the internet this video would not even be possible? By the time someone got all the information together it would be wrong before it would be published. With all these new advances who knows what tomorrow will bring.



Mr. Winkle Wakes was an interesting video. The world that he awakes to is unfamiliar territory because so much has changed. He does not recognize anything from his world 100 years ago. It shows how much we relay on computers now and it makes us wonder how people lived without all this technology long ago.

The one thing that was odd to me was that computers were not being used in schools. You would think with all of our new technological advances that teachers would want to give the students a head start by teaching them early. I think this video could be an insight for teachers as to the best methods of teaching for students. Teaching methods could be more hands on with less lecturing so that students can understand better. Schools should be keeping up with the changing times.

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