You Tube- Smartboard Basics

I LOVE smartboards. The smartboard gives teachers as well as students a variety of possibilites to create and interact with lessons. What used to be a hassle and a time consuming activity for teachers can now be done with a touch of a finger. I also really like how students and teachers can write on the board and bring up links and pictures. The smartboard is very technologcially advanced but should be learned by everyone. If all teachers watched a 2 or 3 minute video of smartboard basics, they could learn how to interact not only with their students but enage their students in the learning process. I also feel that students could incorpate their own knowledge and experience with the smartboard to create presentations.

Top News

This article really showed the importance as well as the growing number of schools as well as teachers who are not only showing videos using VHS or DVDS but through websites. Students are very digitally advanced and they faster they are growing, the more that teachers are going to need to do to engage them. Also, many schools are giving students the ability to students to edit and create their own films. By giving students the chance to make their own videos will potentially help them understand the concepts in their own way. If students make their own videos and then show other students, maybe they can help other students understand the concepts as well. Also, students can be given some responsibility as well as some freedom in creating the videos. In this day and age, videos are important.

4 Generations: The Water Buffalo Movie

The purpose of this movie was the show how a video can used to show the importance of a message. The message that was revealed from the movie was: send $ 250 in China and give a poor family a water buffalo. However, this was not a true statement, and the message just wanted to show what could be done to help poor families in China. The viewer of this broadcast wanted to help and acutally find, fund, and donate this water buffalo to a poor family in China. Having a water buffalo to help with the farming could really help these families. A water buffalo could work up to 15 years and if butchered could feed a family for 6 months. It was amazing to watch this water buffalo being delievered to this poor family and watch the 4 generations see this unexpected gift being given to them. At the end of the movie, I couldn't believe that message sent through a video had provided a family that consisted of a great grandmother, grandmother, father, and young daughter. To hear them say how much this inexpensive but large gift meant was completely heartwrenching. The message was overwhelming and was powerful.

Tools for TEKS: Integrating Technology in the classroom: podcasting

This article was written to describe the true definition as well as the benefits of podcasting. I like the idea that podcasting can allow students who do not just want to write for their teacher to have an outlet and another way to express themselves. The article defined podcasting as uploading audio and video files onto the internet.The article was also beneficial by showing the links for classroom podcasts that could be used in the classroom. The article mentioned the benefits of podcasting and one that is very important is the fact that podcasting is cheap. Many schools do not have the monetary advantages as others and since this is cheap, schools can have the same resources as others. I really like that the article mentioned that podcasting is digital storytelling. Students need to know that they can have the ability to write and share their stories with others on the internet. Instead of always writing for or to the teacher, they now have the ability to write towards others. I also really appreciated the first sentence in the conclusion, "We need to get serious about educating today’s digital natives for the digital knowledge landscape of the twenty-first century".

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What is RSS?

This article is a great resource for people who are just beginning to use the term RSS and subscribing to a reader. The article outlines the process of how to sign up and basically gives a definition that anyone can understand. I also like how the author gave information on using email rather than the RSS, if the RSS was too complicated. Getting an email at the end of the day with all the updates if very easy. If you weren't able to get to a computer, you could check your email and get all the updates. If people like to bookmark, then RSS is an easier bookmarking and people should subsribe to make their lives easier. Personally, if anything could make my life somewhat easier, I would definitely subscribe to it.

RSS in Plain English

RSS would definitely be considered part of web 2.0. The idea that you can subsribe to a website and all of the new information be right at your fingertips is pretty amazing. RSS can be used for teachers or students who are awaiting new information. I could have definitely used RSS when I was in high school or in the beginning of college. Rather than wasting our time refreshing the page to see if new information has been posted, we can just log into our reader and see the new posts. RSS is going to make finding information easier as well as being able to be kept up to date with information on the internet.