For my video podcasts I chose subjects from a variety of different areas in science. I chose: Characteristics of the Suns, Energy Transfer in a Trebuchet, and Homo Sapiens vs. Neanderthals. The first video shared some very interesting facts about our sun and the solar system. It was a terrific way to reach out to the students that are visual learners by showing them just how massive the sun is and just how small the sun is compared to other stars.
The second video, Energy Transfer in a Trebuchet is a terrific video for getting students interested in science. The video is about two individuals who decided to build a Trebuchet which is a medieval siege weapon using only methods available to people living in the middle ages. The video shows terrific footage of cannon balls, and old pianos being flung across great distances. This video is ideal for showing students that science and engineering can be cool.
The final video Homo Sapiens vs. Neanderthals provides an interesting look into pre-civilization. It studies the early competition between Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals and offers clues as to why Homo Sapiens emerged victorious. First it argues that Homo Sapiens were much more inclined to explore than Neanderthals and spread across vast areas rather than staying local like the Neanderthals. Secondly many Homo Sapiens sites were found on hilltops, allowing them a greater view of the surrounding area so they could better plan and strategize. Neanderthals on the other hand remained in low areas and valleys and lacked this advantage. After roughly 10,000 years of competition, the Neanderthals eventually went extinct.
Podcasts like these are a terrific resource for teachers. It provides the students with a visual aid in supporting the teachers lecture while the teacher is offered a brief break. It will help the visual learners in the classroom excel and show students the "cool" side of science that teachers sometimes cannot describe (like throwing a piano).
Finally, by using this resource that students can access from home, students are encouraged to learn outside of the classroom. Watching a ten minute video about science or any other subject is often much more enjoyable than reading a chapter in a text book. Certainly if it is more entertaining then students will be more inclined to do it. These are several reasons why video podcasts are a valuable resource to teachers in the 21st century.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
iTunes University 2
The first podcast, The Edible Schoolyard is a terrific example of learning outside the classroom. These students spend their first period, growing and maintaining an organic garden of fruits and vegetables. The students are learning and engaged as they can both eat what they grow and examine firsthand things like plant root systems.
In A Night in the Global Village, students in Arkansas experience a night as a citizen of an impoverished country and attempt to barter with each other for simple things like water and wood. Through this experience, the students better understand what people in third world countries have to endure everyday just to survive.
Podcasts like these are of terrific use to me as a teacher. Having been born and raised in Mobile, AL I have only been exposed to Mobile County style teaching. Therefore I have little experience with how subjects are taught in the rest of the county, much less around the world. So by examining schools in Arkansas and California I am able to see teaching and learning from another perspective. The examples shown here are important because although the students are outside the classroom, they are learning and engaged.
As a teacher, this is a fine line to walk. Although lectures get tiresome, it is difficult to get the students outside of the classroom and yet still have them focused and engaged. These students were given responsibility and were able to adapt to their circumstances creating lasting memories and learning that far exceeds any typical classroom lecture. These students were respected and trusted, and they gave the same courtesy right back to their teachers.
In A Night in the Global Village, students in Arkansas experience a night as a citizen of an impoverished country and attempt to barter with each other for simple things like water and wood. Through this experience, the students better understand what people in third world countries have to endure everyday just to survive.
Podcasts like these are of terrific use to me as a teacher. Having been born and raised in Mobile, AL I have only been exposed to Mobile County style teaching. Therefore I have little experience with how subjects are taught in the rest of the county, much less around the world. So by examining schools in Arkansas and California I am able to see teaching and learning from another perspective. The examples shown here are important because although the students are outside the classroom, they are learning and engaged.
As a teacher, this is a fine line to walk. Although lectures get tiresome, it is difficult to get the students outside of the classroom and yet still have them focused and engaged. These students were given responsibility and were able to adapt to their circumstances creating lasting memories and learning that far exceeds any typical classroom lecture. These students were respected and trusted, and they gave the same courtesy right back to their teachers.
iTunes University
iTunes University is a terrific program being used by teachers all across the country to distribute digital lectures to their students. Students can use their computers, iPods, or iphones to access lectures and review them at their own pace from wherever they want. Apple offers further details here.
As a teacher, I feel that this would be a terrific tool to share with my students. Not only can I access lectures from other teachers to perhaps refresh my memory, but I can also share these lectures with my students in the classroom even if they don't have access to iPods. Students will be able to learn the material from another perspective and perhaps glean some information they weren't able to in my classroom.
This is just another terrific opportunity that technology has given us to share information with students and faculty around the globe. Students can benefit from learning at their own pace and having access to lectures 24 hours a day, learning when they want to rather than when society wants them to.
As a teacher, I feel that this would be a terrific tool to share with my students. Not only can I access lectures from other teachers to perhaps refresh my memory, but I can also share these lectures with my students in the classroom even if they don't have access to iPods. Students will be able to learn the material from another perspective and perhaps glean some information they weren't able to in my classroom.
This is just another terrific opportunity that technology has given us to share information with students and faculty around the globe. Students can benefit from learning at their own pace and having access to lectures 24 hours a day, learning when they want to rather than when society wants them to.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Duke University and iPods in instruction
In the fall of 2004, Duke University provided incoming freshmen with 20GB iPods that were also equipped with Belkin voice recorders. This is a terrific example of universities embracing emerging technologies by providing their students with an instructional tool that can be used both in and outside of the classroom. Students were able to record classroom instruction as well as: access podcasts, store files, and use it as a field recording and study support tool.
This link provides arguments both for and against the usage of iPods in the classroom. It basically reiterates the Duke University discussion of the audio recording abilities of the device and how those can be used in a variety of situations. As far as the challenges concerned they pointed out that the battery life was limited, difficulty file sharing, and how "most students" weren't technologically savvy enough to work with the software. Although I was skeptical about that argument. Overall the biggest issue seemed to be the usage of iPods in the classroom beyond their intended use, which most of students surveyed said they used their iPods for other things half the time. Ultimately iPods should supplement classroom instruction rather than replace it.
This link provides arguments both for and against the usage of iPods in the classroom. It basically reiterates the Duke University discussion of the audio recording abilities of the device and how those can be used in a variety of situations. As far as the challenges concerned they pointed out that the battery life was limited, difficulty file sharing, and how "most students" weren't technologically savvy enough to work with the software. Although I was skeptical about that argument. Overall the biggest issue seemed to be the usage of iPods in the classroom beyond their intended use, which most of students surveyed said they used their iPods for other things half the time. Ultimately iPods should supplement classroom instruction rather than replace it.
Alice Christie
One of the first things I noticed about Alice Christies' site is how well she understands her audience. She has covers bases from web 2.0 and blogging to the basics like translating instance message lingo. She even covers things like Google Earth and interactive programs like SecondLife under her Emerging Technologies section.
I believe that the website would be useful to me as a teacher because first and foremost it is easily navigable. Her website is well designed for beginners and advanced users alike, and both will be able to learn something for the information she provides.
I believe that the website would be useful to me as a teacher because first and foremost it is easily navigable. Her website is well designed for beginners and advanced users alike, and both will be able to learn something for the information she provides.
Wikipedia
Although Wikipedia is an easily accessible source of information, it is certainly unreliable. In fact, in one of my classes several years ago, a classmate edited some information on George Washington just as we were discussing the website. In just a few minutes the content had been changed (although it was fairly quickly restored) and episodes such as this prove that Wikipedia can never be a trusted source of information.
As with all things, you have to remember what the source is and who has access to it.
With a tool that is as open and free as Wikipedia is, certainly individuals and corporations are likely to edit information if it will be to their benefit and thus, as with everything, I would always make sure I got information from multiple sources. But as a resource for looking up simple facts such as September 1, 1939 for the beginning of World War II Wikipedia is a quick, if not necessarily trusted resource.
As with all things, you have to remember what the source is and who has access to it.
With a tool that is as open and free as Wikipedia is, certainly individuals and corporations are likely to edit information if it will be to their benefit and thus, as with everything, I would always make sure I got information from multiple sources. But as a resource for looking up simple facts such as September 1, 1939 for the beginning of World War II Wikipedia is a quick, if not necessarily trusted resource.
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