A BABY using an iPhone?!
Don't believe me?
It is really astounding that a toddler can figure out how to use such advanced technology. Sure, it IS just a phone, but it obviously does more than most phones can do. I wanted an iPhone, but I settled for something a few steps below that advancement: the LG Vu. I don't really like it too much, but I'm STILL figuring out new things about it - even almost after a year of using it. I do wonder, though, WHY would these parents let their toddler play with such an expensive piece of technology? To keep him quiet in the doctor's office? I used to let my baby sister play with my old phone to keep her occupied, and I know that's not really a good idea...
It's really scary realizing that this little boy will have already learned SOOO much more by the time he starts kindergarten; how will his teacher be able to keep up? There are many other toddlers just like him, I'm sure, and this will certainly be a challenge to at least keep up with future students and their uncanny technological knowledge. I still don't even think I'm ready for an iPhone myself...
Kathy Cassidy: Media Literacy
See how media literate these first-graders are...
Media literacy is evaluating, navigating, creating, and responding. These first-grade students show you exactly what it means to understand each of these important aspects of being media literate. Being media literate today certainly is more elaborate than being media literate a decade ago - and it will still be more advanced a decade from now. I think being "media literate" when I was in first grade would constitute as having knowledge about how to use the library; I never would have dreamed being able to do the things these children are doing at this age, and I can only imagine what being "media literate" will be like in years to follow...
Kathy Cassidy: Little Kids...Big Potential
Look at how talented these children are!
Mrs. Cassidy really does do an amazing job of keeping these children active in her classroom. They are learning things in first grade that I'm learning as a junior in college! Usually when I think about technology in the classroom, I believe that it really should be used at a minimum and only as an aid for the teacher... Mrs. Cassidy's work has truly been an inspiration. My point of view is really changing on this subject, and these children are the living proof that this works. I actually hope that I can get some comments from these wonderful children on MY blog!
...and I think it's terribly cute how the little boy says, "Always don't say mean things" when leaving comments. SO cute! He certainly has been very helpful for me!
PODCASTS
KidCast: Episode 62: "Some Thoughts on Video Podcasting"
This is an audio podcast about video podcasting. The speaker is advocating the use of video over audio podcasts for an enhanced educational experience. It seemed quite informal and unrehearsed. I suppose this is to make the "lesson" more like "conversation." Some of the reasons he suggests using videocasts is so the viewers will get more out of the message; by using video, the viewers will be able to see expressions, emotions, visual aids, faces, and hand gestures to better convey the intended message. Sure, audio podcasts would be better-suited for those who are commuting and who cannot really afford to take their focus away from staying in between the yellow and white lines - but yet can still learn something new, as if listening to the radio.
The speaker says that if "a picture is worth a thousand words, then a videos are worth a million."
Teaching With SMART Board: Episode 65: "Animation"
This podcast - much like the last - sounds a lot like a radio station talk show. In this episode, the two hosts are demonstrating how to use animation in the lesson plans used on the SMART Board. Their technique is quite bizarre: there are many random noises used at really irrelevant times. The turkey noise I heard at the beginning was unexpected and awkward. Their audience should presumably be teachers - since they're really the only ones who would be using animation in the SMART Board lesson plans - and yet their production would have been appealing to a child. I'm not sure why they were talking about the zoo at the beginning, but they definitely made up a word when talking about the dinosaur exhibit, describing them as "animatronic" dinosaurs. I don't think I like this technique of podcasting...
EdTech Talk: Teachers Teaching Teachers: Episode 158: "Getting Schooled on Gaming"
This podcast was much more formal: it was a collaboration of teachers from different gaming experiences - all discussing whether or not gaming could be useful in the classroom or as a homework aid. Where does gaming belong in the curriculum? The teachers do believe that gaming brings out strength in students and that this "social media" is important in students' education. Educational games make learning even the most undesired material more fun and easy - like "chocolate-covered broccoli, as the host points out - and even the non-educational games spark interests and qualities into kids that a textbook just simply could not do: just playing games improves coordination and awareness, and since most games have a creativity aspect, the students are learning by what they're creating. This creativity necessity has been addressed in my previous blog posts, and I believe that the advocates for creativity in the classroom would also strongly agree with this podcast. This podcast has definitely had to have been the most influential and interesting podcast I've watched thus far.
Connect Learning: David Warlick: Episode 96: "Blah, Blah, Blah"
I chose this podcast over the others because of its title: it somehow seemed more interesting than the "Three-Hour Workshop..." This also sounds like a radio show at the beginning of the podcast (the speaker says "y'all" a LOT - which is really strange to hear out of an educator at a meeting or on a podcast with other educators...); the talk show morphs into a business meeting, which is much more pleasant and informing than the former.
They are looking for "more social information experiences in terms of student performance/performance as teachers." They agree that most students already have an understanding and experience with using technologies of today - that learning about them may not be the case for the students, but for the teachers. Students can keep up with their classes via blogs and emails, and this is much more efficient. This is certainly true because I've never personally written a blog before, and now I do it every week. I've also gotten into the habit of checking the university website eCompanion for my homework, classroom announcements, projects, and grade postings. If I didn't know how to use this technology, I definitely wouldn't be able to make it through the rest of my college years...
MacBreak Weekly: Episode 173: "Two Words: Dance Belt"
This podcast seems to be more like a news cast: very informative, talking about national issues and viewpoints. The focus of this cast for December 29, 2009, was the surprising lack of service for the iPhone in New York. As one of the major cities in the country, customers were astounded that AT&T - one of the leading cell phone companies in the country - would be unprepared without thorough coverage areas to include this major city. AT&T argued that it wasn't because of the lack of towers servicing NY, but that there had been significant and damaging internet fraud actions...? That was the "safe" answer, as the two hosts decided. I did not listen to the entire hour-long cast, but I still enjoyed this style of podcast over the talk-show style.
This Week in Photography: Episode 126: "Racism in Photography - Don't Blink!"
Although this podcast is like the talk-show style that I have decided that I didn't like, this podcast (and probably all the other episodes in this series) addresses more interesting subject for me.
In this discussion, there is an issue with a camera in that the camera doesn't take very good pictures of people with various facial features or skin colors. A racist camera? The blame was put on a lack of sufficient sample testing on certain types of skin color or facial arrangements/proportions. Dynamic color ranges (dark tones against a light background) create a light disaster. I didn't know that people in the television broadcasting business actually don't use white shirts - dull grey shirts actually look white in contrast to the other bright/dark colors of skin and background colors.
For those people who know a lot about photography and shooting techniques, this podcast series would be very interesting for you to devote some time into listening.
This is an audio podcast about video podcasting. The speaker is advocating the use of video over audio podcasts for an enhanced educational experience. It seemed quite informal and unrehearsed. I suppose this is to make the "lesson" more like "conversation." Some of the reasons he suggests using videocasts is so the viewers will get more out of the message; by using video, the viewers will be able to see expressions, emotions, visual aids, faces, and hand gestures to better convey the intended message. Sure, audio podcasts would be better-suited for those who are commuting and who cannot really afford to take their focus away from staying in between the yellow and white lines - but yet can still learn something new, as if listening to the radio.
The speaker says that if "a picture is worth a thousand words, then a videos are worth a million."
Teaching With SMART Board: Episode 65: "Animation"
This podcast - much like the last - sounds a lot like a radio station talk show. In this episode, the two hosts are demonstrating how to use animation in the lesson plans used on the SMART Board. Their technique is quite bizarre: there are many random noises used at really irrelevant times. The turkey noise I heard at the beginning was unexpected and awkward. Their audience should presumably be teachers - since they're really the only ones who would be using animation in the SMART Board lesson plans - and yet their production would have been appealing to a child. I'm not sure why they were talking about the zoo at the beginning, but they definitely made up a word when talking about the dinosaur exhibit, describing them as "animatronic" dinosaurs. I don't think I like this technique of podcasting...
EdTech Talk: Teachers Teaching Teachers: Episode 158: "Getting Schooled on Gaming"
This podcast was much more formal: it was a collaboration of teachers from different gaming experiences - all discussing whether or not gaming could be useful in the classroom or as a homework aid. Where does gaming belong in the curriculum? The teachers do believe that gaming brings out strength in students and that this "social media" is important in students' education. Educational games make learning even the most undesired material more fun and easy - like "chocolate-covered broccoli, as the host points out - and even the non-educational games spark interests and qualities into kids that a textbook just simply could not do: just playing games improves coordination and awareness, and since most games have a creativity aspect, the students are learning by what they're creating. This creativity necessity has been addressed in my previous blog posts, and I believe that the advocates for creativity in the classroom would also strongly agree with this podcast. This podcast has definitely had to have been the most influential and interesting podcast I've watched thus far.
Connect Learning: David Warlick: Episode 96: "Blah, Blah, Blah"
I chose this podcast over the others because of its title: it somehow seemed more interesting than the "Three-Hour Workshop..." This also sounds like a radio show at the beginning of the podcast (the speaker says "y'all" a LOT - which is really strange to hear out of an educator at a meeting or on a podcast with other educators...); the talk show morphs into a business meeting, which is much more pleasant and informing than the former.
They are looking for "more social information experiences in terms of student performance/performance as teachers." They agree that most students already have an understanding and experience with using technologies of today - that learning about them may not be the case for the students, but for the teachers. Students can keep up with their classes via blogs and emails, and this is much more efficient. This is certainly true because I've never personally written a blog before, and now I do it every week. I've also gotten into the habit of checking the university website eCompanion for my homework, classroom announcements, projects, and grade postings. If I didn't know how to use this technology, I definitely wouldn't be able to make it through the rest of my college years...
MacBreak Weekly: Episode 173: "Two Words: Dance Belt"
This podcast seems to be more like a news cast: very informative, talking about national issues and viewpoints. The focus of this cast for December 29, 2009, was the surprising lack of service for the iPhone in New York. As one of the major cities in the country, customers were astounded that AT&T - one of the leading cell phone companies in the country - would be unprepared without thorough coverage areas to include this major city. AT&T argued that it wasn't because of the lack of towers servicing NY, but that there had been significant and damaging internet fraud actions...? That was the "safe" answer, as the two hosts decided. I did not listen to the entire hour-long cast, but I still enjoyed this style of podcast over the talk-show style.
This Week in Photography: Episode 126: "Racism in Photography - Don't Blink!"
Although this podcast is like the talk-show style that I have decided that I didn't like, this podcast (and probably all the other episodes in this series) addresses more interesting subject for me.
In this discussion, there is an issue with a camera in that the camera doesn't take very good pictures of people with various facial features or skin colors. A racist camera? The blame was put on a lack of sufficient sample testing on certain types of skin color or facial arrangements/proportions. Dynamic color ranges (dark tones against a light background) create a light disaster. I didn't know that people in the television broadcasting business actually don't use white shirts - dull grey shirts actually look white in contrast to the other bright/dark colors of skin and background colors.
For those people who know a lot about photography and shooting techniques, this podcast series would be very interesting for you to devote some time into listening.
Posts
Animatronic comes from the the phrase "Audio Animatronic" which is how Walt Disney's Imagineers created the robots for The Enchanted Tiki Room as well as The Pirates of the Caribbean. If you go to Wikipedia.com and search for it you can find all sorts of info on it. BTW the word "animatronic" is the generic, non-Disney term for the same type of thing.
ReplyDeleteMr. C
I did read your post, but I am kind of a Disney geek so that is what stuck in my mind...
I have to agree with you. The children in Mrs. Cassidy's class are pretty awesome. They can operate a computer very efficiently for their age. With many more children their age continuing to become media literate, you pose a good question. How will we define media literacy in the future? Good post.
ReplyDeleteWith the technology that is present these days, children will probably end up being WAAAAAYYY smarter by the age of 20 than our generation will be by the time we're 50. Isn't it ridiculous how a 1 year old can navigate an iPhone before he can read or feed himself, but a full grown adult who can cook a full 3-course meal can't program the clock on a vcr? That's why all technology these days have clocks that are self setting. It's because everybody got sick of dealing with the blinking 12:00. Technology is convenient but it makes people lazy. Soon, we won't even have to the bathroom anymore. Just you wait and see...
ReplyDeleteSo now you have some ideas about how to make your podcast a good one. And if you want to do a videocast, be my guest! several of the students in Jim Fawcett's class last semester did videocasts the first time around. They were quite good. Talk with him about those projects.
ReplyDeleteAnd Ms. Cassidy is inspiring!
And thanks for adding the links!