Historic Video

On December 8, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt Addressed a joint session of Congress. As a consequence of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, he requested that Congress declare war on Japan. Historians consider this speech one of the most important speeches in American history.

Teaching with New Media

Edutopia suggests several ways in which teachers can incorporate technology into the classroom. As a future educator, I hope to be able to facilitate student learning by taking advantage of many of the resources found on the Internet.

Three suggested websites listed on Edutopia struck me as particularly useful for teachers. First, I believe that the Internet be used to help both teachers and students remained organized. While we are currently using wikispaces.com in our class and have already seen its benefits, it is helpful to see how other teachers have used it in their classrooms. Having a central website that lists all assignments, references, and due dates should help both teachers and students remain organized. Teachers who rely on these websites to organize their classes must make sure that all students have sufficient access to the Internet.

Second, donorschoose.org looks like a great way to generate funds for classroom activities. School budgets remain limited. Voluntarily contributions online not only help teachers to get funds necessary for class activities, but they also allow private citizens some input into what activities money should be spent on in public school classrooms.

Third, wordle.net seems like a great asset to help students learn vocabulary. It can be used in any discipline and appears user-friendly. I firmly believe that teachers must find ways to help students develop a broad vocabulary. It will serve students well in school and in life.

Edutopia’s collection of education-related websites demonstrates how useful the Internet can be in enabling education. For my part, I hope to one day be able to incorporate many of these websites into my classroom and look forward to the new websites being developed daily.

Screencast-o-matic Post

November's Article

Alan November’s “Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning” raises several issues and questions regarding contemporary technology and education. I tend to agree with his emphasis on developing professional relationships between teachers and the importance of sharing information through the Internet. Most professionals share stories and experiences with their colleagues and, in doing so, share ideas about what works and what does not within their professions. Teachers must adopt a similar strategy.

I also agree with his distinction between automating and informating. Automating, using technology to perform activities that could be performed without technology, has limited uses and can lead buyers to purchase unnecessary items. Informating, however, emphasizes that goods be purchased that will enable information sharing and communication. This makes more economical sense to me and certainly fits the criteria of November’s goals for education.

November makes a compelling argument in favor of incorporating technology in the classroom. His example of the student who failed to validate an online source regarding the holocaust exemplifies the need to teach students how to assess an Internet website’s credibility. Not only will this exercise help a student to learn how to validate an online source, it will also help him to develop critical thinking skills.

In contrast to November, I am ambivalent about the utility and effectiveness of online cameras in classrooms. While I agree that it will force teachers to evaluate themselves regularly, I can picture instances in which a classroom camera would be a nuisance. Perhaps, as November suggests, the cameras can only be used for a few minutes a day. 

Do You Know 4.0

Do You Know 4.0 illustrates several ways in which some recent technological advancements have shaped the world in which we live. Three lessons stood out in the video. First, computers, including those found in cellphones, provide access to previously attainable information found on the ever-growing Internet. Second, established industries have been forced to adapt to changes in technology in order to compete with newer companies. Finally, as demonstrated by Barack Obama’s campaign fundraising in February 2008, successful use of social networking websites, including Facebook and Twitter, can have a profound impact.

As educators, we must remain cognizant of, and adapt to, continuing technological developments. Just as major industries have changed in order to accommodate changes in technology, teachers must find ways to accommodate new technology in the classroom. For example, educators can access an unprecedented level of information that can be used to enable student learning. Accessing new information, however, cannot supersede teaching. Technology cannot be viewed as a replacement for teaching but instead as a compliment to teacher-led classroom instruction. Furthermore, students must learn the benefits of technology and the beneficent ways in which it can be used. Both teachers and students must also be aware of the problems posed by changes in technology and the Internet. These problems include computer viruses, identity theft, and the temptation to plagiarize work posted on the Internet. Despite these few problems, technology can be a welcomed addition to the classroom.

First Week

Today marks the final day of the first week of the TCPCG UConn program at the Waterbury Campus. It has been a challenging and tumultuous week. Each student appears to have adjusted well to the rigors of the program. I look forward to working with each of them.

As a novice technology user, I look forward the EDCI 5825 class. I hope to learn about the basic technology used in contemporary public school classrooms.