Podcasting. April 26, 2010

Podcast. What in the world is a podcast? Well, according to Wikipedia, a podcast is a series of digital media files, either audio or video, that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication.

The most common form of a podcast is a voice recorded audio that is released for people to listen to. They can be downloaded on some websites. The most popular site to download podcasts is itunes.

I think that using a podcast for my classroom would be such an asset. How often do you have students who are absent or who do not understand the material the first time around? Especially with older students. I know several students who are in my classes today that bring a voice recorder with them to class so that they can listen to the lecture later. This would also be a fun way to keep kids engaged in work over the weekends, breaks, and summers. You can update them on material that they might need to know, or maybe even use it as a weekly scavenger hunt. I think that podcasts can be used in so many different ways in the classroom, and I would love to use them one day.

Little Brother

The book Little Brother was very different than any other book that I have read before. Though it was geared towards Young Adults, I feel like Adults would have enjoyed the book just as well. The book was teaming with technology, adventure, and even suspense. As Marcus, a teenage boy, and his group of friends get caught in the middle of a terrorist attack, the friends must think of a way to help Marcus escape the local authorities who have taken their power to a new level. This story does have some romance between  Marcus and a new friend in the story, Ange, who ultimately helps keep him alive and his will to beat the government sustained. This story introduces many new concepts about the government and also uses technology in a new way. I think that Cory Doctorrow, the author of the book,  uses many elements in the story to represent things that he feels like are problems in todays world. Just like in George Orwell’s 1984, Doctorow shows a side of technology and government that can be abused to create a distinct and unpleasant living atmosphere. Where every where you go, there is someone watching you. Making sure that you are obeying every rule and law.

Over all I think that this book was very entertaining and enjoyable. I would definitely use it and recommend my students to read it so that they can form their own opinions on what the use of technology and government can look like if it is abused.

Image Analysis

Reading is something that occurs every single day. But not only in the form of words. We also read pictures. They come in the form of advertisements, Magazine pictures, and even photo albums. If you are a net nerd like me, you probably have a Facebook or a twitter account. There are ways that we speak through our photos on both of these sites.  In looking at these pictures, we can analyze the structure of how the picture was taken, why things were positioned the way that they are, and what exactly the photographer/designer is trying to say through the image. Here, let me show you an example:

This is an advertisement for a hand sanitizer called Dettol. The interesting way that the creator of this image is trying to sell this product is by relating many different situations, that require using your hands, to the people who will be caught in them. But all of these hands are combined together to create one big hand. I think if you look at this picture, you may automatically take it for the face value. This is a picture of a bunch of hands that need hand sanitizer throughout the day. But, the fact that they are all combined to create one big hand shows that not only do THEY need the hand sanitizer, but so do you because your hand comes into contact with all of these hands throughout the day. Therefore, the advertising technique that is used here is very effective because it grabs your attention with the colors and the unique design, and then it makes you really sit and think about what the article is trying to say.

Wiki- What?

Doing research papers and homework assignments that require research have never been the same since the invention of a web based encyclopedia called “Wikipedia”. Though this website is deemed not credible and sometimes faulty, there are some reasons to be assured that the information on this website are fact. In the article by Darren Crovitz and W. Scott Smoot, “Wikipedia: Friend not Foe”, there is discussion on how even though the information that is available on the web can be accessed by any person who wishes to update or change anything, there are a group of editors who are constantly checking the information that is updated on the site for credibility.

I agree with Crovitz and Smoot’s argument that using Wikipedia is a great platform for a deeper research. I think that having this type of information in this particular form can be questionable at times, but if it is approached with a researcher attitude, you can avoid the mistakes of misinformation. In my plans to one day have a classroom of my own, I will encourage my High School students to use Wikipedia to discover a base knowledge of their topic du jour, and then challenge them to use other sources to deepen their knowledge and information.

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The website that I looked at was “The Onion”

Things that made my website look credible:

-The set up is exactly like a real online newspaper company.

-There are articles about real people. For instance here. This one is about Tom Hanks.

-On the webpage, there are different links to different topic matters such as Economy, Sports, Politics, etc.

-There is even a section for local news.

Digital Media Project April 20, 2010

For my Digital Media Project I did a video on the Linguistics Concept of Blends. Please enjoy my interpretation of how blends are created.

Memes: You mean there is a name for that?? March 30, 2010

It is becoming more of a phenomenon today. It spreads like a virus and can be passed to anyone. Once you catch it, you cannot cure it. It has to ride its way out of being in your mind. What is it, you ask? Memes. Meme? What is a meme? According to dictionary.com, a meme is basically a piece of culturally relevant information that is passed from person to person through means of technology or verbally. I had no idea what exactly a meme was, so I did some research. In doing this research, I found a favorite meme to share!

This specific meme is just hilarious! The way that I heard about and saw this one was through a group of my friends. I believe that this is a perfect example of a meme because it uses specific dances and genres of music that used to be popular. This man has so specifically combined the dances into one performance to create this Evolution of Dance act. Another way that it is a meme, is how popularly it has spread. Even the very widely watched show, The Office, used pieces of this video to add a hilarity to a specific episode…..

I think that this is such a cool, interesting, and important concept to teach in the classroom. This is how information is being spread throughout the current generation and I believe that it is important for students to know the correct terminology for the act that most of them are participating in. Plus, it is such a cool way to engage your students. You can use clips or pictures that the students are familiar with!

tw1tt3r 1n th3 cla55r00m February 23, 2010

There are so many social networking sites, tools, and branches that are very accessible and usable in the classroom. Does that mean that we should use them? One of my professors reiterates this statement to us all the time: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Just because the yellow polka-dot bikini comes in a size 34, doesn’t mean that you should wear it.

As said in a past post of mine, I love technology. I believe that it is one of the fastest growing driving forces in adolescents today. Students are curious and reveling in the unknown of technology. For me, I want to bring that into the classroom. I want to not only support their desire to be technologically advanced, but I want to use it to keep them engaged in classroom topics.

One article that completely conveys my feelings to using new technology in the classroom uses twitter to describe a new way to get the students engaged. I think I would definitely use this in my classroom. When discussing a book, 140 characters on twitter would be so much more fun to use than writing a paragraph or typing an essay. Not only would it be fun for the students, it would make grading easier for me! With each student having a user name and setting requirements to make a comment by a certain time and @ replying to at least 2 other students’ comments, it would be so easy.

I do realize that there can be negatives to using things like this as well. There is always the dreaded students not having the available technology at their houses, like said in the above article. Or, the abuse of such technology. One classmate made the comment of having your students writing their “tweet” on a notecard or some sort of paper in class if students are not able to get onto a computer. After all it is not just the fact of USING the technology, it is teaching the students HOW to use the technology better. To also show them that it doesn’t have to only be for personal reasons, and that learning through the technology of today can be fun.

Digital Project Proposal February 16, 2010

For my digital project, I am going to make a video on the morphological blends. Now, with shorthand texting and messaging, students are combining two words to make a new word. For example:

“Bromance”

Students that are creating these words have no idea that there is an actual term and history behind this concept. I want to show them a little history on blending words and use some of the current blends that are floating around in our culture. I also will challenge them to create their own blend and definition. This is a concept of Linguistics that I think will make my students re-think the way they actually think about words.

Techno. 2.0 January 21, 2010

I love technology. I love being able to pop open my Macbook Pro (thoughtfully named Rory) and glide my fingertips over the silver mousepad of greatness, where I immediately am immersed into a digital world. I feel like I could conquer the online seas and sink metaphorical battleships with the tap of a few keys. Power. Yes. I have the power. As a selfish person, I would prefer that I was the only one to have this knowledge and power of the digital world. BUT, unfortunately for me, you can obtain the power too. One way to obtain said power is through Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is a phrase that was coined for the internet in response to the companies that had miraculously survived the “crash” of  the web several years ago. As if a horrific earthquake had shaken the grounds, companies made of concrete crumbled where stronger companies built on solid foundations and with wood remained. As two business men sat in a conference room one day, they decided that the name “Web 2.0” was more than qualified to represent the new era in online technology that was about to wow users across the globe.

As a future teacher I can say I will absolutely utilize the web to teach my students. You can use things like google, Wikipedia, and youtube. For instance, check out this video on youtube that I found. If I were to be teaching my students on speeches and how to write them or present them, I could show them Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech.

Monkey Business: The Survey Says…. January 20, 2010

The Survey Monkey site is such an awesome tool! A couple of my professors at Chattahoochee Technical College had used a survey from this website to get to know the students in their classes a little bit better. It was the first assignment that they had assigned us. So not only was it beneficial to the professor in getting to know us, the students, but it was an easy first grade in the class! There is nothing better than having your first grade in the dreaded “book ‘o grades” be an A.

I definitely think that I will used this element of teaching in my future class room. To give my students the chance to earn that grade but also to take a few seconds to learn about them. I will also use it as extra credit for stories and poems we may be reading. This is such a step forward in the classroom towards integrating the barriers between the young, technologically advanced adolescents, and the more traditional teachers. Here! Check out the survey I made!