QR afterward

wow, to sum up the afterward, wow. It's interesting to know that everything I just read didn't just come from a group of doctors or whatever in some far off laboratory doing a bunch of random studies. It's nice to know that this isn't an adult trying to get into a kids head then spitting it out oin paper. This is actually a book where the students helped to write it, or at least gave their input allowing for a better understanding for both the people writing it as well as the people reading it.

Chapter 10

This chapter relates to the previous chapter about giving students goals. This chapter talks about making class more interesting and helping students to learn by relating it to things outside of the classroom. This is just the same as giving students a reaosn to learn. Help students understand and see what's going on and why they should learn, for now, and for the future. Connect to t.v. shows, to the teenage culture. Get down there and help the kids to udnerstand a little bit about what's going on. We have one teache rin high school, she must have been around 60. She was the most exciting and down to earth teacher I have ever had.

Chapter 9

The book mentions the importance of really pushing students and staying with them. The idea of giving up on a student for any reason seems so difficult for me to really understand. But I can see how in same cases a teacher might feel like it's easier to just give up. But then what does the student think, why would the student have any desire to try, there aren't any expectations any more. A teacher can't give up, although it has to be the most difficult thing ever to be a teacher and ivest all of your time into a student or a group of students just to see them fail. Any good teacher who sees a student fail will feel as if they failed a little bit too. The trick is to just keep going, a teacher's goal isn't to simply get kids the grade, but to help them come to understandings and to learn how to have faith in themselves. One thing this makes me think of is in the school I am doing my practicum time in, there is one group labelled the "D" group, they know who they are and they know they've been labelled the "D" group for a reason. In class so many of them see no reason to really try. Come to think of it, this entire 8th grade class has been listed as a trouble class since kindergarden. I mean come on.

Chapter 8

While this chapter was important, it really seemed quite irrelevant. Yes we need to be able to teach students who have English as a second or third or ever fourth language. But most of us wilkl be teaching in Maine or some other overly white state. The book talks about helping them learn, we don't know anything about "them". But it really is something to think about, what if we do encounter students from cultures so different from our own. Not just in reading, but every other area, just the same as wanting to know all the student's history, we should want to understand their culture as well so that we as teachers might be able to be more effective for the students.

Chapter 7

This chapter really made me think of my practicum teacher. Every lesson is literally having the students sit down and read from the text for almost an hour. Students will sit down in class and read/ take notes then take a quiz using their notes. There is no thinking, it's just the most boring thing ever. Students need a change of pace, if students don't have a chance to do something different, to really get out there and have a chance to think they're going to shut down. In order to keep students available to learn we need to encourage them to think, to encourage them to look at things from new and unusal perspectives.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 made me happy to read. This is exactly the way I've felt about teaching my entire life. Students don't want to elarn something for the blessing of knowledge that it will bestow upon them. Students want to know why it matters, what's the point. Students really do need real life goals, otherwise why should they have any desire to learn. Each student will have to be reached in different ways, some you can say for college and that's all you need, but what abotu kids who want to be miners or whatever. Each student nees to be attended to personally.

Chapter 5

This chapter kind of put the entire classroom into perspective. It's something to think about when you look at everyone as individuals. Everyone has a different history, a different past, different things that make them tick. Iyt's important as a teacher that I don't overstep a student's bounds, and that I know enough about the student that I don't do something to offend or disturb them. But sometimes one would think kids really need to learn to step out of bounds. While school is a safe environment and such, when can one think of a better time for kids to really go out on a limb. Kids won't be any safer to try new things outside of school.

Chapter 4

This chapter didn't bring any true realizations to me. Except maybe about not praising students. I guess I never really thought about it, but when I was a student I hated receiving praise inf ront of everyone, I felt like it set me apart. Not all students want to be set apart fromt he peers, most just want to fit in. I like how the book shows that and stresses not leaving students out and making sure that students are involved. I used to hate it when I would miss a class and students would be able to talk about the last class and whatever and I just wanted to get to the next lesson so I would have an idea as to what was going on. When it talks about grades it makes me think of one of my teachers. My teacher used to post all of the grades up for everyone to see. It used to bother me, I woulkd get higher marks and I felt like it set me apart.

Chapter 3

When I read this chapter it made me laugh. I had just had an experience with one of my students that made me wish I had read this chapter earlier. As I am in the classroom I am learning more and more that I really need to be willing to put my foot down every once in a while. I can't be a friend, and I can't be that nice guy. Where the book talks about punishment and being firm is where I would have really benefited. The teacher had left to go talk with another teacher, and the students started talking about underwear when they should have been reading about history. So while smiling I asked them to stop, and some of them listened, except this one obnoxious girl in the front of the classroom. Every time I told her to stop she talk back to me as if I was the one in the wrong. I should have sent her to the office the moment she was indignant.

Which strategies are most effective for teaching and learning with technology?

Some of the strategies I've already mentioned, and that would be using different software to teach certain topics so that students of different intelligences might understand it better. Another effective way to teach with technology is to really get the kids hands on work, like with podcasts and google earth. New and exciting things really attract a student.
The only problem with all of this is it will all get old, but it will still be more effective than with chalk and a chalkboard.

How can you effectively integrate technology into your teaching and learning?

Technology is popping up in teaching left and right. Teachers can use power point, smart boards, laptops, blogs, whatever their desire might be. The presentation by Gordo, Mike and Chelsea really excited me, because I could really see how students could use things like podcasts. It isn't difficult to really work technology into a topic, in fact, it might make the topic even simpler to teach. Using different software, you can teachthe same topic multiple ways to ensure that each student is able to understand according to their own intelligence.
I know we went over this in class, but we never took it seriously. Gordo and them said it took hours to figure it out, and it just doesn't seem to be worth all of the trouble.

Why might it be important for students to learn with technology?

Well, the best way to answer this question is something that I learned in the reading from Grace's class. The book said that more and more students are learning via technology. More so than their teachers themselves did. Right now everything is run by technology, and that's the way it's going to be unless we start degressing as a race. The reading specifically mentioned the Multiple Intelligence Theory (MI), with MI students learn in different ways. Computers have different programs and software to help students focus on their intelligence to learn the material at hand. Computers are simply a fantastic resource.
The only question or concern would have to do with the cost. The cost for all of these programs must be pretty expensive and that would be diffuicult to deal with when facing a small school budget.

wiki

I guess I didn't know what to add. I'm not very creative when it comes to non-essential things. I think it does have a few good ideas to relax, especially with the homework load that we've been getting recently. I think it would be nice to let my students use wikis in order to show what they've learned and to provide easy access to their fellow students as well as their teacher (me).

NYT middle school article

In this article it is clear to see that there are three main views. Two are argued more seriously, while the third is simply looked over. One side stresses the importance of having middle schools become k-8, so the students will have more time to be nurtured. Instead of being forced into high schools at age 10-11 (arguably their most susceptable time) they have time to figure out more about themselves with the comfort of familiarity. On the other hand some teachers push for a 6-12 school. This enforces the idea of taking kids and having three more years to truly prepare them. The argument is that teachers could take these students, and with the three extra years, get every one into college. The third and ignored view is the idea that all of this time and money in switching is just an expensive distraction. What schools really need is smaller classes and more individual attention from qualified teachers.
I don't know where to stand, I see both arguments and they both make sense to me. I guess if I had to choose then I would choose the latter with one condition. At least from 6th-7th grade the students need to be somewhat separated from the older students while they transition and get used to the bigger schools with so many different things going on. High school is more directed at helping students figure out what they want for themselves in the future, and with a good transition with effective teachers from 6th-7th grade I think the results could be amazing. Put these students into a positive environment that does push them towards college or a future and I think it will not only be better on the students, but also on the teachers.
Imagine being a teacher in high school and getting a a freshman right out of elementary school, so much would have to be done. You couldn't teach them anything, it would all be transition, students would be even farther behind than they are now. But if they start out in 6th grade learning how it's going to work, not only will they we ready by freshman year, but they'll be way ahead. Students will be much better prepared and will have more like 5 years of high school to be ready for the real world instead of three.

theresa's comment Q

I didn't enjoy the speech that she gave, she was kind of silly. If it was something more interesting then the idea of being able to playback speeches is awesome. On the issue of mp3 players, mp3 players can store and playback audio files. They are pretty similar, and are more comparable to a podcats than a radio like she was trying to compare it with.

simple broadcasting

A podcast is a form of technology that allows students to put their work into digital form and share it with others, it can be audio or video.
One thing she relates it to is a radio. She talks about how a radio costs so much to deal with and to handle, and that there's no pausing a radio. A podcast is much cheaper, and you can pause it, and save whatever it is that you'd like to listen to for a jog or a run. This however is an awful example, the two can't even be compared, what she should have compared it to is an mp3 palyer or something that is actually similar. Comparing podcasts and radio is really like comparing apples and oranges.
Some ways to use it in the classroom is if kids need to learn their multiplication tables is to have them podcast it. So that they can play it over and over again, so it's like they're studying. Another way is from audio clips, where kids can study national anthems, or hear interviews for studying. If kids use the video, kids can watch themselves working, or use it as a flash card.
According to the woman, teachers really want to use these podcasts. She says that it encourages kids to do their homework, because once their homework is done they get to podcast it... too bad that only works for a little while. Then it is a good way to help your kids study. They will be excited about the podcast, and will show their family, and will play it over and over studying on accident. It makes the teacher's job easier.
The whole idea is stupid. While it seems like a good idea, as soon as kids get used to podcasts, they're not going to care anymore. It's just going to be another hurdle they have to jump through in order to get the project done. It just takes more time, while it is a good way to reinforce ideas and thoughts, it seems like it could be done much more easily with less time wasted.
I think podcasting is a bad idea. It is time consuming and just kind of silly. According to the woman, the reason it's effective is because it's new and exciting, but it will only be new and exciting until the next thing comes out, if it even lasts that long. Flashcards are much more accessible and take less time to deal with. It is nice to have the audio behind it for kids who need the audio, but a recoding would do just as well.

blogging website

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~nshelley/
This website I found goes over all of the benefits of podcasting. It is specifically designed for teachers. It doesn't really go in depth into anything, but it does list a lot of the benefits. It talks about student participation, it helps kids get more technologically advanced, and it is very easy to obtain and work on with students. Then it goes into the technology, how little is needed, and how easy it is to use.

Copyright and Fair Use LR

The Disney one really makes me think. I mean, you're showing a movie to kids. If your son had friends over you'd show them the movie to keep them quite. All of a sudden we can't show it to kids in day care? Besides, I thought vhs wasn't under the same copyright restrictions or something like that. You aren't showing the movie for profit, people wouldn't pay to see a disney movie anyways. You're showing it to keep kids shut up, for entertainment. It doesn't make sense I guess.

Copyright and fair Use QR

1. I was surprised that one was allowed to make those backups. But I guess afterwards it does make sense, since theya re not being distributed.
6. I figured it wouldn't be allowed, as if as soon as it was on the website it was copyrighted or something.
7. at first this one bothered me, but I guess in a perfect world it's okay.
8. I figured if he legally obtained it that it would be okay.
10. He got it for free, but I understand that people will be able to take it off of the shared area.
14. Okay, now this is dumb. You can't show a VHS film for entertainment. That's just dumb, why do we buy it then?
15. I thought that VHS didn't have the same copyright rules, now I'm confused.
16. This one just didn't make sense at first at all. But after seeing the answer I can make it out a little bit better.

QR Blogging

Blogging, as I have discovered so far, is like having a diary. Just instead of putting down your personal thoughts, you put down what you think about certain things that have to do with teaching... I never liked diaries.

QR introduction

I guess I'm just surprised that syudents would be willing to leave a class for that reason. It seems a little weird, like, possibly a couple of the smarter students said they weren't learning and proposed the idea to leave the classroom. Then all of the slackers just kind of took flight with an excuse to just leave the class but still look noble. At the same time though it did seem as though some of the kids were pretty serious. I hope this doesn't happen to me.

QR Chapter 2

This chapter talks about how students will respect a teacher who talks to them on an equal level. Kids enjoy learning froma teacher that they can like and respect, and that they like and respect a teacher who respects them. One thing that I've always believed and remember believeing as a student is that in order to really reach kids in school you need to treat them as intellectuals. While they might not posses the same amount of knowledge, they are thinkers. I remember when I was in school I just wanted to be respected, by my teachers and my peers. The teachers that i appreciated the most were the ones who talked to me like I actually had something to say. As a teacher I hope that I will be able to reach my students and that as I get older I will continue to believe this way.

QR chapter 1

I thought that the questionairre was a really good idea. I realize that no matter where I go to teach there will always be students with backgrounds much different than my own. Handing out a questionarrie to start the class will be helpful in giving me some insight to each student. This will allow me to reach them better.

QR PREFACE

In the first part there really was only one thing that stuck out to me. That was the fact that 60% of teachers quit teaching within their first five years. This is incredible, I can't imagine working so hard in school to become a teacher and then quitting the profession to become something that one is less qualified to do. I want to teach, that's why I'm in this school and taking these classes. I'm going to be a teacher, quitting sounds like the pansy way out.

netday results

well, I don't see myself being a digital native. I was kind of surprised, Ithought that more kids would be farther ahead than they were. I really don't think I am that far behind, however, time moves fast. I don't know where kids will be in two or three years when I get to the point where I am a teacher in a public school. The numbers weren't as far advanced as I thought, I guess I have to understand that in a public school not a lot of children have enough money to really be active in all of these technological advances. At the same time, as technology improves, everything gets cheaper. I just don't know anymore.