Journal #4

From Toy to Tool
By Liz Kolb

The article describes how several sites such as Gabcast.com, allow you to use your cell phone to record a message, an interview or a posting for a blog. This will then directly be transferred to your blog and posted.
The article brought up several concerns for what is called “audioblogging”. The first concern is the issue of privacy. Anyone can have access to read blogs that are posted on such sites as Blogger.com. Another issue is that of copyrights. People are not allowed to post music and other copyrighted material on their blog sites. A third issue is that of cost. Many of the sites are free unless an upgrade is desired or unless the cell phone company charges for the call. This is not likely to happen according to the author of the article, but it can.
Another issue that arises, and this is a big one to me, is the issue of controlling the class. Allowing students to bring cell phones to class and use them in class is not a common occurrence in many schools. It may be difficult for teachers to be able to trust that their students will be using the tools appropriately while adhering to the assignment.
One final issue that is discussed in the article is protecting the privacy of the students and monitoring inappropriate posting on the blog or media site. This is something that could be controlled very carefully by having administrative access at all times to these sites and notifications once something new is posted so sites can be continually monitored.
This article is very interesting because it sounds like something that all students would enjoy in participating in. It would be a fun assignment to teach students both about technology and about how to conduct an interview. When I ask myself if I would use something like this to create a similar assignemt I would say yes. I think that though there may be some concerns to an assignment like this, it would be an appropriate time to teach students about the safety of the internet, copyright laws, adhearance to the assignment and other issues that many fifth or sixth graders could learn.
Another question I have for myself is what would hold me back from doing an assignment like this one. I suppose the answer would have to lie in my fears and lack of knowledge about how to fully create an audioblog. It is such a new concept but I think that it would be fun to learn as a class because this is clearly something that is new to all generations and will definitely impact the one we will teach.

Journal #3

Video In the Age of Participation
By: Glen Bull

Glen Bull writes of the wide spread usage of streaming videos on the internet. He describes how National Geographic is capable of having a camera film a certain area of Botswana, then this piece of footage is able to be sent one third of a way around the world to North America to be viewed on T.V. Bull also brings up that this “Peter’s Pond” can be searched on YouTube to discover that there are may devoted fans who post their favorite clip of the show or post themselves discussing the show.
The article goes on to discuss how teachers are scrambling to find portions of film that are educational but do not take up large portions of time with other parts of the video that are not. He also briefly discusses how the ability to download clips of a movie or television program has made film projectors and even DVD players a thing of the past.
One of the interesting portions of this article is the discussion of DEN. DEN is the Discovery Education Network’s new experiment that allows teachers and students to upload, edit and remix licensed unitedstreaming content. This gives teachers the chance to see what their colleagues are using as teaching materials and even have the opportunity to use a few of them in their own classrooms.
The first question I have for myself is would I ever edit and create a video to show my class then post it for all other teachers to see. I feel that I would be very skeptical of my ability to create a video, but if I did create one that I felt would be beneficial for others then I would definitely post it. Also, I would most likely search the site for new and fresh ideas to bring to my own classroom.
The second question I have involves the use of YouTube. This site has everything ranging from clips from a National Geographic show to someone’s home video of Grandma at Christmas. I am curious as to how the reliability will be of this video network. For my personal opinion I would not use a YouTube video as a resource for a college class. I would search for the clip in other more reliable locations. Also as a future teacher I am not sure that I would use a clip from YouTube and show it in class unless I was absolutely certain that it was going to be positive education.

Journal #2

Article: Breathing Fire into Web 2.0
By Justin Hardman and David Carpenter

This article was very interesting to read because it is something that I have truthfully never heard about before. It is always so great for me to hear stories of how things were created by a simple idea by simple people. The two men who created DragonNet were two teachers from an international school looking to organize their calanders and information on-line so it could be shared. A simple idea grew into a fantastic way for educators to organize all of their information in collaboration with the schools, students and collagues.
The Web 2.0 service is not something that I know a whole lot about, so some of the information within the story was difficult for me to grasp. From my understanding, this new service, Web 2.0, is a new form of the internet that offers more than the older version does.
I think this is a fantastic idea because it encourages the use of technology in the classroom, which as discussed many times in class, can have numerous benefits. You can teach a science lesson online and not only are the students learning about science but also about technology. Many of the different NETS standards for students and possibly teachers, would be met through using a service similar to that of DragonNet.
Another benefit is that students could use the DragonNet for social networking, as opposed to using FaceBook or MySpace, which can have negative reputations.
My first question is would I be interested in using a Web-based program similar to DragonNet in my classroom. The answer would be an emphatic yes! I believe that this could help all of us mulit-taskers have one central location to organize all of our information for inside and outside of the classroom. I love the ability to enter all the information and make it available to students at certain times.
My second question involves the expansion of the DragonNet. Is this program only available for the teachers of the Hong Kong International School? I Googled the program and it came up as only a program for the Hong Kong International School. I believe however it could be a prototype for other schools and Web-based programs similar to this one could be created for school districts individually. What a fantastic idea!

Journal #1

Article: Professors adjust their methods to reach technology-savy generation.
By Eleanor Yang Su

This article is very interesting to me because I can directly relate to it. My mom and I always talk about how technology has almost become a second language for the people of my generation. Her generation is struggling to learn how to speak "technology" and what it means. For me and the other "millennials" of my generation we have grown up around technology as the article mentions.
I can relate also to the difficulty of lecturing to students while they are using their laptops and cell phones in class. I have witnessed many students, including myself, text messaging in class, using the internet to check e-mail or myspace, and occasionally using thier laptop to take notes in class. I have however, seen many professors being turned off to this because it is a distraction to them as they teach. I have had several professors ban computers from class, saying it is more of a distraction than it is helpful. According to this article by Eleanor Yang Su, she found that many San Diego professors are going in the opposite direction, and utilizing different high-tech teaching strategies. I believe that this is the direction that education will begin going, not just for college students, but for high school students as well. I know from observing several high school classrooms that cell phones and ipods are huge issues in classrooms.
I found the section of the article about multitasking very interesting. I feel that I am a huge multitasker and sometimes it helps me get things done at quicker pace, but sometimes it distracts me from what needs focusing and I end up doing a half attempt on all of the tasks. Not good :(
This brings me to my first question: How can I make sure that while I am multitasking with technology, I am getting all of my work done to my full potential? I think that this takes a lot of self discipline and requires that I set aside time for tasks that require my full attention. For me this is very difficult to do because most of my homework is done on the computer and my cell phone is consantly ringing. I need to make this a priority for myself so that when I become a classrooom teacher it will be a habit to focus and not distract me from teaching.
My next question is about the generation that is going to follow me. The kids born in the late 1990's and eary 2000's. These kids are by far going to be more technological savy than the Millennial generation. This will also be the generation that I want to be teaching. These kids are getting cell phones for their tenth birthday. I was not allowed to have a cell phone until I started driving, when I was sixteen. These kids are growing up with LeapFrogs and other technological learning devices that encourage reading on a computer more than reading from a book. It is a very vague question with an even vauger answer, but I think it is important for all of us to be aware of.

Dear Class,
My name is Autumn Kirby. I was born and raised in
boring Fallbrook. That means I went there from
kindergarten all the way through high school and never
left. I finally got out and moved away for four years
while I went to school at Azusa Pacific University
where I received a degree in Social Work. Now I have
moved back home to Fallbrook to live with my parents,
for free!
I love technology a lot. I really enjoy my cell phone,
my camera, my computer and all other sorts of
technological items. I feel really priviledged that I
have been able to grow up around all sorts of
expanding technology. I depend on technology on a
daily basis. It allows me to stay connected to my
family and friends that I dont get to see everyday. I
love using Mac computers a lot, but I do not
personally own one. I am in the market I guess you
could say...
I think the portion of the CSUSM/COE Mission Statement
that speaks the most to me is the part regarding
cultrual diversity. This is so important to me because
it directly reflects many of my personal beliefs about
how we as a human race should treat each other. I have
a degree in Social Work and really believe in the
power and the importance of service to one another. To
me teaching is a way to truly impact one another and
make a difference to people. I believe that if I can make
a difference to at least one person, I have made a
difference in this world.