This may be one of the easiest writting assignments of the course. Technology has enriched my life by allowing me to overcome many of the limitations imposed by my blindness. The list of benefits is so long that its hard to summarize. I don't have to worry about going to the library as I can download digital books from the Library of Congress to play on my digital player. I can pull movies from Netflix over the internet which means that I don't have to find a ride to the movie rental store. Information and research that I would normally have to get to a library for is available at my desk. I can communicate and stay in touch with people simple by sitting at my computer. Shopping, hobbies, travel planning.... everything I need is a few keystrokes away. For many people, especially youth; this might be see as a retreat away from personal interactions. But for people with disabilities, this is often the only way to overcome being trapped in a house with nothing to do. Even my coursework to keep my teaching license can be done at home. Without the advances in technology, cab fare would cost me more than the course itself.
Maybe the biggest advantage is the emotional and psychological one. Sometimes the disability makes on feel trapped and very isolated. It can still be too quiet alone in the house, but there is an ability to reach out. And that provides some relief to the trapped feelings. Its hard to explain to someone who has the ability to go where they want when they want to.
As a teacher, my favorite uses of technology are the ones that I use to support my special education students. Technology allows me to help them succeed and learn. Students who can not write two sentences can use the computer to prepare movies and presentations to their classmates that show they have learned. My students record their voices over pictures that draw and scan or download or even take with a camera or camcorder. These pieces of technology combine into a project that they can feel pride in persenting to their classmates. For many of these students, the feelings of success are a new experience. I have technology that allows me to scan books or web sites and have them read to students who can not read. Again, my students feel included for the first time. They do not have to be embarassed that they can not read the hard chapter book that the rest of the class is reading. They can sit at the computer and have everything read to them. We are even experimenting with speach to text with some students. As in my personal life, technology can be the key to overcoming limitations. Its a good feeling.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Video Blogging and our Youth
As part of this weeks assignment, I checked out two new video blogging sites VLOG Central (formally VBLOG Central) and VOBBO. I also looked at some of the VBLOG out on YouTube. This is a technology that is obviously immensely popular. As someone who has never really enjoyed being in front of the camera, it is a capability that I do not see the appeal of. But it is obviously there especially with our youth. From a personal perspective of having been in the military, I see a wonderful tool that could be used to link families to loved once far away. I know my son in Iraq is a big user of Skype and I occasionally borrow a friends netbook to video conference with my son... but that is really more of a communication tool that video blogging. I watched over 50 videos this week and some were very intertaining and fun while some were just silly (Cherry Popping and extreme fruit violence) and others were of very questionable content. This is definitely a technology with pluses and minuses.
On the positive side, I see an ability for students to express themselves when other forms of communication are difficult. Students who can not write a good paper can sit sometimes sit and talk to the camera to express themselves and to show what they have learned. Video responses give teachers an additional way to assess what students have learned and they provide students with a feeling of success that they were able to complete an assignment.
But this new technology comes with a great risk that it will be used in an inappropriate manner by our children. The children of 2009 have a different moral view of what is right and wrong that is more often influenced my thier peers that by the adults of their world. This new technology is one that requires we somehow teach our children how to use it properly. It is sad, but in many cases our children are doing more harm to themselves than the worst pedophiles. There is a growing base of stories about children and young adults using cell phone cameras and other video devices to take inappropriate pictures of themselves to share with friends. Once sent, these pictures are no longer under control and they often have very negative consequences. There are also a growing number of adult websites that provide similar capabilities to YouTube. I may be old fashioned, but somehow we need to teach our youth how to use these technologies in an appropriate manner that does not place them at risk. This children and young adults may think its okay today; and maybe they can avoid embarassment now, but there will come a time when they are adults with families of their own that these video exploits will come back to haunt them. Data on the internet lives forever. I do not know the solution to the problem, but somehow we need to put some thought into what technology we make available to our children before it can be misused.
On the positive side, I see an ability for students to express themselves when other forms of communication are difficult. Students who can not write a good paper can sit sometimes sit and talk to the camera to express themselves and to show what they have learned. Video responses give teachers an additional way to assess what students have learned and they provide students with a feeling of success that they were able to complete an assignment.
But this new technology comes with a great risk that it will be used in an inappropriate manner by our children. The children of 2009 have a different moral view of what is right and wrong that is more often influenced my thier peers that by the adults of their world. This new technology is one that requires we somehow teach our children how to use it properly. It is sad, but in many cases our children are doing more harm to themselves than the worst pedophiles. There is a growing base of stories about children and young adults using cell phone cameras and other video devices to take inappropriate pictures of themselves to share with friends. Once sent, these pictures are no longer under control and they often have very negative consequences. There are also a growing number of adult websites that provide similar capabilities to YouTube. I may be old fashioned, but somehow we need to teach our youth how to use these technologies in an appropriate manner that does not place them at risk. This children and young adults may think its okay today; and maybe they can avoid embarassment now, but there will come a time when they are adults with families of their own that these video exploits will come back to haunt them. Data on the internet lives forever. I do not know the solution to the problem, but somehow we need to put some thought into what technology we make available to our children before it can be misused.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Dr Ken Robinson's monolog on Ted.com is a rather interesting and often funny response to education, but it is also in many ways an unfair representation of today's educational system. I admit to laughing at times, but I also found myself being insulted at times. In the end, I wasn't sure if I was more amused or insulted.
Our educational system (at least in this country) has made many strides in the last 15 years. Recognition of multiple intelligences is just one of them. The system has begun to look at new ways of supporting learning and learning styles. In fact, if you wait a day or less.... a new paper will be published with a new way to teach children. In many ways, I feel that the system as gone too far in trying to find new and innovative ways to teach. The focus on fundamental skills in math and reading has been lost to the idea of kinder and less threatening learning. Reciting math facts and/or spelling in front of the class is now considered to stressful for fragil egos and so the skills work has been dropped from our curriculum. With these changes, out country's education system has lost it superiority in the world. Maybe we need to reconsider going back to the basics. We can still use the things we have learned about teaching, but without forgetting the hard lessons we learned along the way. I do not believe that stressing basic skills development damages creativity. The US did it for decades and managed to land on the moon. Creativity can remain despite structured learning.
There were two pieces of the video that I found very insightful though. The first was the comment that young children are often willing to try even if they do not know the answer. They are not afraid to be wrong. Trying and failing is still allowed. That is soemthing I think schools need to teach our students more carefully. It is okay to make mistakes as long as you are trying. If we teach our children its bad to make a mistake then they may be afraid to try. Smoe of our greatest achievements have involved failure. It was okay to fail 10,00 times to make a light bulb as long as Edison kept trying until he got 1 right.
The second note that I really like was the comment about how we treat kids with different learning styles or disabilities today. The idea that one of the world's greatest dancers might have been medicated and told to relax is scary, but all to often the easiest solution. Kids need to be understood and accepted as they are. Then we can learn to teach who they are. My experience is that most of who they are is what the adults in their life have created. True issues are issues our society has created in the child. Sometimes its a genius we do not recognize that a parent has nurtured and sometimes its a disability that adults have instilled. Sometimes its just who the child is. Understand it first, then maybe we can understand how best to teach the child. And maybe all it takes is dance school.
Our educational system (at least in this country) has made many strides in the last 15 years. Recognition of multiple intelligences is just one of them. The system has begun to look at new ways of supporting learning and learning styles. In fact, if you wait a day or less.... a new paper will be published with a new way to teach children. In many ways, I feel that the system as gone too far in trying to find new and innovative ways to teach. The focus on fundamental skills in math and reading has been lost to the idea of kinder and less threatening learning. Reciting math facts and/or spelling in front of the class is now considered to stressful for fragil egos and so the skills work has been dropped from our curriculum. With these changes, out country's education system has lost it superiority in the world. Maybe we need to reconsider going back to the basics. We can still use the things we have learned about teaching, but without forgetting the hard lessons we learned along the way. I do not believe that stressing basic skills development damages creativity. The US did it for decades and managed to land on the moon. Creativity can remain despite structured learning.
There were two pieces of the video that I found very insightful though. The first was the comment that young children are often willing to try even if they do not know the answer. They are not afraid to be wrong. Trying and failing is still allowed. That is soemthing I think schools need to teach our students more carefully. It is okay to make mistakes as long as you are trying. If we teach our children its bad to make a mistake then they may be afraid to try. Smoe of our greatest achievements have involved failure. It was okay to fail 10,00 times to make a light bulb as long as Edison kept trying until he got 1 right.
The second note that I really like was the comment about how we treat kids with different learning styles or disabilities today. The idea that one of the world's greatest dancers might have been medicated and told to relax is scary, but all to often the easiest solution. Kids need to be understood and accepted as they are. Then we can learn to teach who they are. My experience is that most of who they are is what the adults in their life have created. True issues are issues our society has created in the child. Sometimes its a genius we do not recognize that a parent has nurtured and sometimes its a disability that adults have instilled. Sometimes its just who the child is. Understand it first, then maybe we can understand how best to teach the child. And maybe all it takes is dance school.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Death by PowerPoint
PowerPoint presentations are not one of my favorite tools in the classroom. At least not for use as the teacher. They can be okay as a way for students to share the results of their own research or labs.... but even then there are better and more capable tools for the student to use. So I really do not have any educational horror or wonder stories to share. Just a little structured noted taking which seems a great way to allow students to copy down important notes.
In my first career in the US Air Force, PowerPoint and presentations were a way of life. Careers lived and died by the briefings that people gave before the Generals. It was often sad to think that you could do a better job and still not be recognized for it simply because the guy briefing before you had some better tricks in his presentation that caught the General's attention. But it was a fact of life.
The two most painful uses of Powerpoint that used to drive me crazy were often related. First was the 1 gigabit slide. The graphics and pictures on a single slide were so large that the slide takes forever to load. Back in the old days.... if you were lucky the powerslide would crash the computer and you could end that particular briefing quickly and painlessly. The second painful presentation trick was often related, too much animation. I can see my boss standing at the podium to shis day. The slide would begin with a map. An Airplane would fly across the screen and deposite an icon on the map. Ships would cross the ocean and drop more icons on the map. The whole process of building this one piece of information took 15 minutes to say something that could have been said in 15 seconds. Anybody besides me want to leave before the next slide starts? And by the way... there are 10 more after that one.
In my first career in the US Air Force, PowerPoint and presentations were a way of life. Careers lived and died by the briefings that people gave before the Generals. It was often sad to think that you could do a better job and still not be recognized for it simply because the guy briefing before you had some better tricks in his presentation that caught the General's attention. But it was a fact of life.
The two most painful uses of Powerpoint that used to drive me crazy were often related. First was the 1 gigabit slide. The graphics and pictures on a single slide were so large that the slide takes forever to load. Back in the old days.... if you were lucky the powerslide would crash the computer and you could end that particular briefing quickly and painlessly. The second painful presentation trick was often related, too much animation. I can see my boss standing at the podium to shis day. The slide would begin with a map. An Airplane would fly across the screen and deposite an icon on the map. Ships would cross the ocean and drop more icons on the map. The whole process of building this one piece of information took 15 minutes to say something that could have been said in 15 seconds. Anybody besides me want to leave before the next slide starts? And by the way... there are 10 more after that one.
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