danielhodgdon

Please comment on my project. Thank you for your time.

Project #1

What: use podcasts that are currently available on iTunes.

Why: I want to use these podcasts in class to keep the students interest by using different technologies and have my students hear others explain the concepts.

How: I have gone on iTunes and looked at many math podcast. I narrowed down the list to eight podcasts that I have subscribed to. The podcasts I will be using will intro new topics(The Geometer’s Screencast), review old topics(Maths in Motion), practice vocabulary(Math Vocabulary), and give challenge problems(Mathgrad Podcast).

Project #2

What: I would like to develop podcasts of what goes on in class

Why: Allow students that are absent to have the class notes on a podcast

How: I will pick one class to start with. Using an external microphone, my iBook G4, and the free software Audacity I will record whenever someone is absent during that class period.

A week course is great! It is over soon. But maybe too soon. Just as the material starts to make sense, it is time to stop. With all the great ideas that I am walking away with after this week, will I be able to make myself work on it once class ends today. My body is telling me it would just like to collapse.

Thank you for all the information on the current trends in education and what we need to do to help our digital natives. Now it is up to me to try it out on a small scale. I’ll start with one class first and test some of these ideas on them.

I had a good week! Thanks for all the help!

I really enjoyed the video on the Crash of the Internet. It was humorous and scary at the same time.

There is an interesting post on the blog about an upcoming meeting for Tuesday. (Actually it was this Tuesday but the site hasn’t been updated yet.) The meeting is a discussion on online child safety with expert Linda Criddle. The Miss New Jersey Case with its private facebook photos used to possibly blackmail is just the kind of situation we don’t want to place our children in. Other practical tips for teachers to be safe with their students while blogging and podcasting will be addressed. It sounds interesting!

I need to come back to this blog to see what Linda said.

I posted the following reflections in Billions of Bytes

Technology News – 100 Dollar Computer
Technology News – Georgia School Displays iPod Ingenuity
Technology in the Classroom Sept. 2006 – Living a Virtual Life

In Listen to the Natives, Marc Prensky pointed out that we are in a digital age where everything has changed around us except education. We need to put education into the students own language. If we can make learning a game then a student can master that learning as they win the game. Students need to be involved in designing the class. They would especially be helpful in the area of technology. Student engagement is a key to success in you class and that can best happen through activities that tie into their digital experiences.

In this article we learned the proper use of blogs (web logs). Blogs are not about writing, they are about conversations. These conversations extend beyond physical and national boundaries. Once you start your blog, who knows how far it will reach and who will be compelled to respond to your blog. When they respond to your blog they should be commenting, not complementing. That is the only reason to respond.

Two heads are better than one.

Josh McHugh’s article, Synching up with the iKids, deals with several school systems attempts to work with the fact that our current generation of students are made up of digital learners.

Dyknow Vision software lets students analyze passages from a book and the students responded with deeper meaning than their pen and paper versions. Moodle system creates online communities and gets used with other tools like Bloglines and Blobmeister. Boston Test Prep to go is an audible SAT downloaded onto to your iPod etc.

The major feeling I got from this article was, it is time for the adults to change. There are lots of teachers that haven’t changed and are not willing to consider change.

2 Cents Worth

When I first visited the blog 2 Cent Worth, it seemed to be presenting a revolutionary idea: video games used to teach skills in school. As I read on, I recalled that the game flight simulator was used to train air plane pilots. So why not keep an open mind about this topic. Also in this same blog they compared making a review sheet for a test with cheat codes that one can use to help someone in playing a video game. I found this blog interesting and I will continue looking at it during the summer.

The Fischbowl

Karl Fisch’s blog, The Fischbowl, has a lot of interesting features. It includes a thought for the day. A quote to get people thinking and responding. There is an archive section and links to other blogs.

Karl was sharing his ideas after an educational computing conference. He felt the length, time for questions, space for computers, and having more students at conferences to share ideas are all long overdue.

I found this blog interesting and I will continue looking at it during the summer. Once school starts I will try to continue looking.