Prior to this course I seen podcasting on my iTunes page and I always wondered “what is podcasting?” Reading the following articles; “getting their iLessons”,” History to go”, and “using podcast as audio learning objects” I learned the definition of podcasting and how they can be utilized in education. When I was younger my mom was in nursing school. I remember seeing her listening to her instructor’s lectures via a tape recorder. Even though I was younger, I felt this was an awesome idea because the student could always listen to the lecture as many times as they needed in order to retain the information. As technology enhances, podcasting is virtually a tape recorder but instead of a tape recorder we use digital files. Pod casting can be beneficial in education because it allows students to have audio access to lectures. This course has exposed me to various technologies that can be used in education and the importance of implementing them into our lesson plans. We are in a time where students are technology savvy and implementing technology tools will help keep them engaged in the lesson.
Annually I organize a family athletic day. Originally we would just have family game night and everyone would come to my home and play every game you can think of. Our family is so competitive we would often have discussions on who would win if we played this sport or that sport. So one year I organized family athletic day and everyone had a ball, from the oldest participant age 59 to the youngest participant age 4. Family and friends enjoyed good ol wholesome fun with family while improving physical fitness and bounding with family members. So I decided to make a Facebook fan page for my annual family athletic day, where people can post their fitness progress approaching the big day.
click on the Facebook link above to connect to the page. I also pasted the link below. https://www.facebook.com/AnnualFamilyAthleticDay I share many sentiments with the article “Always On”. I feel our technology is a gift and a curse. Because information is so easily accessible students don’t feel the need to retain the information for themselves, because they can always Google it. In the article “social networking in undergraduate education” spoke about the benefits of utilizing technology in education but “Always On” mentions the pros and cons of social networks. The article mentioned "While most of the survey participants see this as mostly positive, some said they are already witnessing deficiencies in young peoples’ abilities to focus their attention, be patient and think deeply. Some experts expressed concerns that trends are leading to a future in which most people become shallow consumers of information, endangering society." I agree with this statement. Because technology has pros and cons, technology should be used in moderation. There should be a limit on how much internet access should be used daily to keep students connected and engaged in what’s happening in front of them versus looking for something else to occupy their brains when the current topic has gotten dull. Moderation is the key to keeping technology relevant and beneficial in education.
The research in the article was very enlightening. Facebook is #1 out of the top 10 social networks. The article spoke about Facebook being used for chat rooms, discussion forums, blogs, wikis and building learning communities. As a dance educator, I’ve used YouTube as a learning tool in my class. I utilized YouTube in 2 ways; one was to have students search various forms of dance genres and discuss their results in class. The other way I would utilize YouTube is by recording students dance combinations so they can use it as a reference to study the dance combination and I would also post their performances. The students enjoyed seeing their performances on YouTube. They would share the site page with parents and friends so they can also see their progress in the class. This helped build our learning community because the students had something in common, they were all involved in dancing in the video and their families were also able to experience the learning community via watching them perform together on the YouTube page. The pages was beneficial to me because I was able to show my progress as an educator and I can always go back and review lessons, reflect on things I should keep and things I should change in a lesson and/or dance composition. To view my class YouTube page click on the YouTube tab above.
I use Instagram as my photo sharing site. I enjoy showing my life experiences through pictures. It also helps me to reflect on my past experiences via the pictures I posted in the past.
The picture I'm sharing with you guys is of an Ex WNBA star Lisa Willis she came to our school for career day. She totally kept it real with the students. She let them know how hard she worked to maintain her status and ranking in the nation as a basketball player. The students enjoyed her story and the boys wanted to challenge her. http://instagram.com/p/WxSOmnwUKC/ At first, linking my page to a RSS was a little difficult . I used Google reader originally. Once i didn't see the links I followed appear on the Google reader I started subscribing to various RSS via yahoo. I noticed it was much easier to use RSS when i used yahoo as a reader. Once I got the hang of using the reader I subscribed to my WordPress blog page, my Weeble page, and CNN. I subscribed to my WordPress and Weeble page because i want to keep up with the comments. I subscribed to CNN
The sites I frequently visit to learn new things are youtube, instagram, google, and pinterest.
Tracey Beauty is the young lady I follow to get crocheting lessons: http://www.youtube.com/user/traceybeauty?feature=watch I follow Day dream Kitchen to get cooking recipe ideas: http://pinterest.com/source/daydreamkitchen.com/ I Follow this young lady for work out and healthy meal ideas: http://instagram.com/fitandsexy_fe
The internet helps my learning when there are things I’m interested in learning on the website. The internet becomes a distraction when I begin to look at my friend’s page and start reading their personal thoughts and post. It also becomes distracting when I check my email and the home page shows updates on famous people drama. I get engulfed in the personal thoughts and drama which distracts me from learning. How do you feel about technology and learning? I feel technology and learning has improved a great deal, especially seeing the internet flourish from dial up to high speed internet and the growth of social media. What are some situations where you feel you are in your "sweet spot?"
The video "Playing on your strengths" was very interesting and informative. I can recall moments when I was in my sweet spot. There are “ah ha” moments when everything just seems to go right and things are accomplished so easily. Naturally I’m a planner. My mom would tell me stories of how I would compartmentalize my toys and plan my day all the way from waking up to going to sleep. An example of being in my sweet spot was when I helping a team mate organize her classes so she can transfer from her junior college on time (within 2 years). While I was organizing her class schedule it made my mouth salivate. When she actually did everything I recommended it brought me even more joy. What are some areas where you feel you are totally out of your areas of strengths? I’m a non-confrontational person. I admire people that are witty and quick on their feet with responses. I haven’t been so fortunate to be as quick on my feet or to even respond in a manner to get my point across. I’m the type of person that walks away from a confrontation wishing I would have said something different. I often miss the opportunity to get my point across. Most times, when I get home I’m thinking “I could have said this”. As I Reflect on micro blogging, the first thing that comes to mind is Maccabi Haifa basketball club. Maccabi Haifa was my first exposure to micro blogging. Whenever their team had a game they would update their twitter feed with the most recent schedule, scores, and plays. This was beneficial for me because it allowed me to stay up to date with the team’s progress via social media. |
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