Asking a K-8 student

I asked my sister an eighth grader at Oakland middle school what she thought about technology in the classroom. She's kind of a tech freak so her answer didn't come as a real shock. She said the school needs to implement more technology and use it more frequently. She pointed out that doctors and veterinarians use computers all the time, and if thats going to be her future job she should know how to use them as well as possible.

I think that if given the funding iPads could be huge for school systems. They can be used to answer questions in class like clickers so the whole class doesn't have to know if you were the one who was wrong or right, but the teacher can look back and see which child might need more help. Also they can be used to let each child view and or hear something up close. This will accommodate all students needs.

Vocab Teach for Toddlers

"Vocab Teach for Toddlers" by Lynn Neary was my favorite part of this assignment because I love the idea of early teaching Vocabulary. This article is all about using Sesame Street to teach vocabulary words and patterns. The author does a great job of discussing how kids are always on the go with their parents, and a good educational way to keep them busy is by letting them use an app on an iPad to learn new words.

Growing up as a child we couldn't afford an iPad or a laptop or anything like that. My parents and grandfather read to me religiously though, and that helped me gain an early and large grasp of vocabulary comparatively to my peers. Not only did this give me an advantage when entering elementary school but it kept my reading level higher all throughout grade school. I think its ideal to teach vocabulary at an early age and if you can do it while your shopping at the grocery store or driving to drop the kids off at grandma's for the weekend it be nice for them to keep themselves busy on an iPad while still learning.

Txting is killing language!!! Jk

In this article, "Txting is Killing Language" by John McWhorter, the author defends texting and its place in today's english speech/writing. He believes that texting isn't killing the english language, but actually creating its own place and meaning in our language. I do agree with the fact that some words like "lol" and "jk" are becoming words themselves but I don't agree with the idea that this is a good thing. These children who are starting to have over usage of those words will hopefully one day attend college. My college professors didn't want to be talked to like that, and I know that most employers don't want to see that on a resumé.

I don't think email is on the way out for one reason simply, most people don't want everybody to have their phone numbers. I don't want some people to communicate with me through my phone because I always have it on me, so I might give them my email. Professors don't want students texting and calling them all the time so they are given their Mtsu email and D2L email. I don't think we are seeing texting ruining the english language either, but I do think we are seeing more common mistakes in everyday student writing, and I think some of that can be contributed to texting.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

In Mr. Winkle Wakes; by Mathew Needleman, an old man wakes after many years of sleep and finds the world has changed drastically. Everybody has converted to using technology in hospitals, buildings, and other places, but not in schools. In schools class all day is led by a teacher that lectures and students take notes to prepare for exams. The author is making a point tat as our world and society has come forward schools have stood still and not changed technology wise.

I disagree with Mr. Needleman for many reasons. I was blessed with having an opportunity to visit the newly rebuilt John Coleman elementary last week, and i must say Mr. Winkle is in for a rude awakening. They had brand new projectors in every room that almost seemed movie quality they used to show videos and read books aloud. They're were at least five computers in every room. Lastly if Mr. Winkle being pleased to see that schools had not updated was meant to say it was a good thing, i must disagree with Mr. Needleman once again. While i do think we should monitor technology use it can be very beneficial for learning. Computers have infinite knowledge and can help lead students to learn in what they are interested in and more.

Creative Commons

This video discusses the usage of a new copyright tool that will allow people to share their creativity online, in the way they want to share it. It's a video titled, "Wanna Work Together" by a Mr./Mrs. Lessig. I agree that it can be beneficial to let others use one's work and modify it and think this is a great tool for teaching in the classroom by using other people's work and redefining or possibly reimagining what they meant by it. So you can take somebody else's work and put a different spin on it use it to your strengths. My mother who is a phenomenal english and language arts teacher would always swap lesson plans with Mr. Bjork who was a math guru. This helped out her math teaching and strongly improved his english teaching skills.

As an educator this would be a great way to download my own great lesson plans for other teachers to use, and hopefully find some great lesson plans for subjects that I may not be as strong in. This would also be a great way to get other articles of reading for my students, artwork, music, etc for them to view and take away from. I think this website and Symbaloo would be great tools for teaching in the classroom.