Monday, October 13, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Digital Storytelling
Creating the first story, "The Zoo," was the easiest. The animoto program was simple to navigate and the links to the picture materials made the creation smooth. The stop by step process of creating the story was good for first time users. I liked being able to add music to the video, but I was not able to select any music that didn't have lyrics, which I think would have fit the video better. Also, the pictures look really pixelated, and I don't know if thats limitation on animoto or from the source I got the pictures from. The Scrapblog was not my favorite but I found the embedding videos portion was good instructionally. A limitation was the choice of music. I didn't like any of them, so I simply embedded videos in order to make the scrapblog more appealing.
The voicethread program was the most enjoyable to make. It was pretty weird recording your own voice but after awhile it was neat.I liked being able to record, delete, and edit multiple times. The voicethread is a good tool to personalize videos.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
"Growing Up Online"
I believe that the internet's impact on kids is both positive and negative. At times, the internet can be a great tool for immediate information, and it can be great for communication. However, there are negative results from such immediate information. For example, the internet allows for students to be lazy. In the video, a student commented that he has never read Romeo and Juliet because he was able to just look it up on Sparknotes and read it in five minutes. The video also mentions a generational gap in terms of technological advances. I agree with this and with Chris's (http://chrishidakasblog.blogspot.com/) comment about having to help his parents with computers or cell phones. There is definitely a generational gap, and it's going to keep expanding. The excessive use of the internet does worry me personally and as a future educator. Personally, I do not like like using the internet for personal usage. I have an email account and facebook I'm always hesitant of what i put on it. As a future educator, the internet will play a significant role for my students. I will have to be able to understand it and be able to keep up with its the changes.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
"Earn an A? Here's $50" (Chicago Tribune)
I do not think that paying students for grades is a smart idea. I agree with one of the opinions in the article that it is for the wrong reasons. Also, those who advocate for the program feel that "it evens the playing field" or that it is a great motivational tool for students (especially low income student). While I can see what they are saying, I feel that there can be other, more beneficial programs established for the students the discussed program is targeting. There are other ways to create incentives for students to do well. For example, more sufficient funding for schools with the majority of their student body coming from low income families/neighborhoods. Such funds could go to implement school day/after school tutoring programs. I also agreed with the statement from the article that paying students can take away from the creativity and process of learning because all the students are going to want is their money. I would have to say that even as my position shifts from teacher, parent, and taxpayer, I would still say that paying students for grades is not the best solution.
The following are links to other articles that discuss the debate about paying students for academic performance:
1. http://www.thebeanblog.com/2006/04/25/the-great-paying-for-grades-debate/
2.http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-27-grades_N.htm
3. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/15/paying.grades/index.html
4. http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7414640&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.8.1
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