Presentations

The presentations that occurred this week were really well done. It was nice to see the different approaches taken.

All groups did a really good job presenting their topics, some of the things that were presented, I have never heard off, so I learned some new things. The creativity was also really nice to see. All of the groups could have easily taken at least 30 min to present because the topics were so broad, but everyone told us what we need to know.

Good Job everyone, the end of classes is near!!

What Can I do Now?

This week Darren Kuropatwa came into to our class and gave an excellent presentation. I do wish that all teachers would use the three principles of learning because I think that it is one of the best methods I have seen through out this program. I also think that all teachers need to be on the same page when it comes to how students learn. 

Having the students do some of the work is also of great interest to me, its not that I am lazy, it is just that students can learn far more from each other than they could with me. I would also work with my students, as a team. My classroom would not be a strictly student centered class room, but students will be able to provide input.

Two things that I keep hearing from our presenters: (1) blocking sites and (2) cell phones and/or "iPods" in the classroom. I think that these two points are major resistors for the technology movement into the classrooms. What are some of your thoughts?
  

A really good Chemistry and Physics blog.

http://tskinnersbec.edublogs.org/

This is an excellent blog for those of us that teach chemistry and/or physics. It is run by Tammy Skinner and she is a high school science teacher.

Why I followed: It is really tricky to find a good, up to date blog about chemistry and physics. Tammy gives so good ideas and resources that I or anyone could use in their classes. If you are unfamiliar with a concept, she provides excellent notes so you can learn it your self.

Sharing

After recently watching the video that Dean Shareski made it got me thinking would I be willing to share my own resources that I created. This is not a simple question for me to answer. Considering how much time and effort I put into those resources; is it worth me sharing to other people how did not put in an equal amount of time and effort. Maybe I am just not use to doing that sort of thing yet. I do not fell the need to charge people money for my resources, it just does not seem right to me.

One particular thing that bothers me is when teachers are too lazy to make things for them selves. I have seen teacher surf the internet hoping they can find a resource that they can use, all because they do not have the time, desirer, and/or motivation to do so.

Dead does make a good point, your resources should benefit all students; If my resources are able to benefit students else where, then I did a good job, which could be "payment" enough.

Unintended Benefits

This week we had George Couros Skype into our class to give an overview on what his school does. It sounds like his students and teachers take social media very seriously at his school.

One thing I found interesting was the fact at his school the students get introduced to technology at a very young age. One thing that I have seen from the past is that if your start students on something new on older aged students (grades 7-12) it is MUCH harder to get them "hooked". It is good to see a school trying and succeeding using technology and social media and make me wonder why more schools are not trying it as well.

In terms of blocking certain sites, I think that schools should ease up on it a tad. Through out this course we have learned to try out new things, but one thing that seems to stand in our way is schools that block certain sites. Do not get me wrong there are some things on the net that just should be blocked, but some of the things they block are ridiculous.

Maybe one day we can stop trying to "bubble wrap" and shield students from the "dangers" of the internet, all it takes is some guidance and teaching. Students are not stupid, they can learn.    

Web 2.0 and Online Tools

This week we learned some useful information about web 2.0. In terms of education I see a lot of potential about using some of these tools in my classes. The information shared and gained through these tools will benefit the students. Students will gain skills through social media, document sharing, find information that will help them if they are stuck, and interact with these different tools to showcase their work. This all seems to connect nicely from what we have seen in the previous weeks and I really look forward to see how this fits in with the rest of the course.

It will be really interesting to see if web 3.0 takes off, I think it has, but we shall see. What are some of your thoughts?

Sorry my post was late, I got caught up with Green Bay winning the Super Bowl...

Is the Internet Making us Smarter or Dumber?

After reading both articles, I can not really come to a conclusion. Both articles make a strong case and try to get you to agree with each. Long before the internet, research was a much longer process; one had to look up information in books and other physical sources. Now a days if you need to know something, just plug it into Google and you will have your answer in milliseconds. I personally believe that the internet is making us both smart and stupid at the same time.

For making us smarter, the internet is a powerful research tool, everyone researches information on the internet. If people need to know a simple fact they will use the internet to find the answer. The biggest issue I have with the internet is that, people will believe anything they see on the internet. If they see something on the net, it must be true. This is where I think that the internet is making us dumber. People are getting lazy when it comes to finding information, I think it has to do with the idea of time, they find their answer so quickly, but do not stop to think if the information is right or wrong.

I also believe that people take the net for granted, in other words they rely on it far too much. If the net stopped working for a week, people would not know what to do. Imagine if you did not have the internet for a week, what would you do?   

Animito Production

Here is the video I made; it showcases my recent trip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. The girl in the photos is none other than my crazy fiancée, Chelsey. She put up with a lot of my shenanigans during our trip....

http://animoto.com/play/tQPSiM0waMNWCzXwgM3agw