Final thought - Week 8 of the course!

Well, the first thing I want to say is this, I did not know the extent of the use of technology in the classroom. There are so many applications, tools, from which to choose, it may a difficult choice to pick one. The educational grant  resources provided this week is one I would be forward to using. I have already downloaded and saved them as a document, later, I will transpose them to my Zip file. I am going to repeat something somebody said in another class to make a final point, he said he had witnessed teachers relying on students in the classroom to use technology . I am mindful of this statement,  and will  make sure I apply what I learned from this course so I won't have to put my hope  on  students to help me. I should have learned that long time ago from my daughter who thinks I am so technological disabled.

Week 7 post

100 % legal, some say everything is 100 % in their lives, others, do not believe in this absolutism. I am in alignment with the latter, not because it is impossible just because I know I have committed copyright transgressions. But I strongly think schools should never be accused of copyright violations. My opinion on this subject was that teachers have the responsibility to teach students regarding copyright violation, then, someone replied to me, inarguably, I might add, that the school district should hire lawyers to review all materials before use. If there are law firms with copyright as the center of their practice, I do not see any anomaly for a school district to have an attorney with this distinction.

Week 6 blog

Virtual reality, one of the topic for this week was highly debated, among the different opinions, I think the majority of the class seem to agree on the fact that nothing can substitute physical schools. Like I said on my original  post, virtual school is all about money. I am not disputing the  fact that a student may benefit from a couple of classes virtually, but not like a substitute for going to class physically. It would be nice for a student recuperating from an illness and unable to attend school.
Twitting is not me, we are already bombarded with blogs, I do not want to bother myself with more. When I become a teacher, I will unequivocally use educational blogs , mediums like that will help me with instruction and will be glad to do so. I would like to conclude by mentioning the report that twitting does not even help reducing teachers' isolation as some have claimed it doing. Let us not give up on all our old ways, some of them are still useful even in the day of technology.

Pick up the  phone- go visit a friend.

Reflection on Week 5 of the course

As we nearing the end of the course, it is getting more interesting. Austin Bell, in my opinion, wrote the best post so far, eloquently describing his views about the evilness of google. Lindsey Myers stated that she got really scared after reading the articles. I am going to reiterate a comment I post, I believe, on Leticia's initial post, digital responsibility should be considered as an extra duty both as parents and teachers. I always find it bizarre what people have chosen on blogs without the thought that it is public records. We need to find a way to make students understand that whatever they post on google or any other blog is an indelible and can comeback later to haunt them in life. I personally do not have any worry of google because I am not that naive to think that I have any privacy. I will echo the exhortation of the author of one of the articles who suggested that it is imperative for our students to have digital knowledge. I have a three year-old son, while I want to supervise what he does in the future using these mediums, I would not want him to be left off the bus in the electronic age.

Week 4 reflection

I have to say week 4 has been the most excited one in this course so far. The overwhelming choice of edutube over youtube was excellent. Also, everyone seems to agree that wiki should not be used as a primary source to collect information, to which I am in agreement. I respect professor Vander Velde for accepting his students to use wiki.as a text book, he added extra duty to his workload by making sure he verified the information his students gather from wiki. Somebody always find a way to mention how much we depends on technology nowadays in education. Professor Brabazon from the Argus echoed the same sentiment I share, the use of technology has become an evangilical zeal.

We can use technology and engage the mind at the same time.

Week 2 post!

The podcast discussion for week two was a great one, I especially like the idea of posting lectures where the materials can be reviewed conveniently. However, I tend to agree with those who feel like posting the whole lecture will encourage some students to skip class knowing the information is at the tip of their fingers. Another issue I have is the use of MP3 in the class, especially the one in the form as a combo with telephone. Kids are too astuce to equip them with such a powerful tool. The policy making the use of such device the decision of the teache is a great one. It is impossible to police kids in the classroom.

Week 3

The most interesting thing to me in week 3 was the overwhelming appreciation shown by the students in viewing the veterans videos program from high school students. It is a wonderful way to give students the opportunity to be part of their education. As we become so dependent on techonology, it is not farfetched to imagine such activity being implemented as a regular classroom course.