Trials: Already shared my thoughts on easel.ly here.
Tribulations: No big aha! moments this week, really.
What I've been thinking about:
- Precocious and smart teens and tweens like this kid, high school innovator/'app' creator and now millionaire.
Makes me pause and wonder how I can, through teaching, harnass the unique intelligences of kids of all abilities and motivations (Special Ed, AIG, whatever!) and also how I can open the curriculum so it is a learning community where we can all teach and learn from each other. As you see with the app-creating high school student -- kids will probably surprise us if given the opportunity. Get to know your kids on more than one level -- meeting Common Core Standards or doing well on EOG's is only part of the puzzle. Reminds me of Dr Toole's maxim: "Do you know me well enough to teach me?" - Boomers like my mom who are using Web 2.0 to learn and collaborate internationally.
She just completed a 30-day video challenge in which folks from all over the world from a variety of disciplines created, shared, and viewed each others' videos daily (in a private Facebook group).
I asked her which of the 30 videos she created was her favorite, and she said this one:
I think some teachers fear technology. I don't think there's anything to fear, because once you get past the newness of it, it's not hard. The hard part, I think, is being adaptable, because once you learn something in Web 2.0, they change it! That is the nature of technology -- constant change. We better fine-tune our adaptability skills though, because change seems to be the name of the game these days, whether in education, business, technology or weather!
- The importance of using tech to make things (lessons, activities) better, not just for the sake of using tech.
What are your questions this week? What have you been thinking about?
Carmen,
ReplyDeleteThat video expressed exactly how I feel at most any moment during this course! I'd love to know how you successfully embedded it to your blog. I maybe could figure it out on my own, but you know me - it will take 6 hours with no guarantee for success! I very much agree that to be a good educator you need to truly know your students. I'm sure I will learn a whole lot about technology from them and their potential will shine!
Hi Lynn, Thanks for your thoughts. I can help you with the emdedding tomorrow during break or after class. It is easy to do in Blogger, but I will have to poke around in your Wordpress dashboard to see how to do it. They are always changing these things!
DeleteCarmen,
ReplyDeleteGlad you are using my video. It was a huge challenge. I do not like to speak in public and everyone in my course was around 30 so I was out of my element in so many ways. However, I have found if I can push past my fears, and devote a lot of time and effort, i can do it. I plan to start using videos on my website. I tell everyone - even much younger than I am to get with the program or they will be left behind and isolated. I am a big fan of Apple because you can take free workshops and also One to One classes to ansswer your questions. When I began this challenge 30 days ago, I could not even use pogo both or turn on the programs. Now I am able to edit, add music titles etc. - very exciting!
Hi Mom, Did you do the videos in Mac Photo Booth? It says "pogo both" in your post! Thanks for sharing. xo
Delete