Media Literacy

These students are quite impressive, and I think so highly of Mrs. Cassidy for incorporating technology into her classroom. I noticed she said that the students wanted her to upload the video to their blog so they could watch it again. I think it is great how involved and excited the students are. This video obviously proves the children can understand technology and learn by using it. The students seem extremely smart, and they are more technologically literate than I am. I loved watching them interact with one another, and seeing how helpful they are. I feel like I can learn a great deal by just watching them.

I also looked at their individual blogs. I love how they blog about so many different things, and you can see the improvement in their writing. I have been learning how students are apprehensive in writing, and I believe by using blogs to introduce writing, the students will greatly benefit. It gives them an opportunity to express themselves and know that writing is not a frightening thing. If they are already achieving these things in the first grade, I cannot imagine what they will be doing in high school. I think it is great that Mrs. Cassidy is doing this with her class, and I hope I can be as beneficial and helpful to my future students.

These are two photos from Kathy Cassidy's First Grade Class in Moose Jaw, Canada. She uses different web techniques to teach her students. These photos were located on their blogs.









Click Here to view more of the students' blogs.





Little Kids... Big Potential

WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!! I am so impressed with these first graders. It is absolutely amazing how the teacher has incorporated so much on the web. I think it is great that Ms. Cassidy has taught her students have to use technology, and through it, they are also learning basic skills. I am sure the students love talking to other classes, commenting on blogs, and play their Nintendo in class. I think it is important to introduce technology to young children. So many people underestimate children, but kids these days are extremely brilliant. It almost scares me a little bit. By the time I am at teacher, I feel like my students will know way more than me.

When I was in first grade, I was learning how to read. These students are writing on blogs and communicating with people all over the world. It has only been fifteen years, and first grade has already changed drastically. In second grade, I remember having a pen pal, in which we hand wrote letters to them. Now, kids are skyping and directly talking to one another. I am astounded. After watching these children, I almost feel overwhelmed. Technology is invading our world, and I have to be ready so I will not be dominated by my own students. I am still utterly amazed by this.

i Phone

I cannot believe a one year old is operating a cell phone. This young child could barely talk, yet he completely comprehended what he was doing. He was not just touching the phone. When his mom said go home, he knew exactly what to do. I have a niece who is ten months old, and although, she cannot operate a cell phone, she does have a fascination for cell phones. Any time she sees one, she instantly starts reaching for it. I have a feeling before too long, she too will be operating it. It is amazing how fast young children are learning and actually comprehending what they are doing.

I did not get a cellphone until I was 16, and I just recently got a Blackberry. I had to get help learning how to work it. My mom and other people I know still do not know how to operate cellphones. I think it is imperative that the older generation do learn, because before too long, they will not be able to live in this world. Our world is dominated with technology, and we must know how to operate it. If we refuse, our children will be controlling the world around us. That is a bit frightening in my opinion.

Podcasts

I found the six podcasts quite interesting, and I definitely learned a lot about different approaches to creating podcasts. There were many things that I liked and would use in my podcast; however, I did find some of them a little informal, and I did not enjoy listening to them. While I understand the approach depends on the audience, in my opinion, I believe it is important to sound professional. I think that it is important to keep things formal and topics appropriate, especially when so many people will be listening.

I was quite impressed with Ed Tech Talk. The speakers were all women and appeared to be teachers. While they did take a long time before actually introducing the subject, I enjoyed listening in. They instantly got my attention, and all the while, they remained formal and appropriate throughout the podcast. I liked how they had people from Australia, and they all discussed their experiences in the classroom. I really felt like I was there with them, and I could relate to them. I also enjoyed listening to David Warlick in Connect Learning, Episode 96. He involved his audience, and he asked for their opinions. He asked them questions, and he appreciated all their good ideas. I liked how it was formal, yet it felt like they were inviting me to join in on the discussion. KidCast on video podcasting was very informative, and I liked how he explained and gave reasons for choosing this method. The podcast was very appropriate for the listeners, and he was quite humorous, which got my attention. He talked about when choosing which type of podcast to use, it is important to consider the audience and the experience they will have. I thought this was excellent advice.

Macbreak Weekly did a pretty good job discussing iPad; however, I felt like there were too many people discussing it, and they used a lot of slang. I did like that they incorporated other technology, Skype, in the podcast. I was quite displeased with the SmartBoard Lesson. The man was discussing dimdim.com while ordering breakfast. While he was relaxed, I found it extremely inappropriate because he kept putting the podcast on hold so he could order. The topic was interesting and informative, but I would suggest that he be a little more professional. The one podcast that I thought was extremely inappropriate was TWIP. They were discussing racism in photography, which is actually an interesting topic. The people, however, did not seem to take the situation seriously. They were making jokes about different races and how the cameras' facial recognition setting was not picking up different races. When Asians blink, the camera does not accept the picture, and the camera does not even pick up the dark complexion of African Americans. I honestly would not use racism to describe what is taking place. When someone is racist, they believe they are superior to all other races; therefore, I would not say there is racism in photography. This podcast could have made a big impact on me; however, I thought it was ridiculous how the people reacted to the situation taking place.


During my podcast, I hope to be professional and make an impact on the people listening to me. While I want the environment to be fun and feel comfortable, I think it is extremely important to know when it is appropriate to joke. I hope to involve many people and incorporate different technology into my podcast. I think asking controversial questions is a great way to involve the audience and hear different perspectives on the topic. The main thing I hope to do is choose topics that my audience can relate to and grow from the information that is given.