Randy Pausch Last Lecture

Randy Pausch's lecture was so interesting. I thought it was an amazing lecture. He said some really amazing things that just captivated my attention. He did not dwell on the fact that he was terminally ill. I found what he said to be very profound. He talked about three things which are, childhood dreams, enabling others dreams, and lessons learned: how you can achieve your dreams or others dreams.
He talked about his childhood dreams. He talked about how he went about making his dreams come true. How fundamentals were important in achieving your dreams. Hard work is also important in full filling your dreams. He mention that brick walls were there for a reason which were to prove how much we want something.
He also mentioned enabling others dreams and lessons learned. In enabling others dreams he mentioned that students need to be encouraged. Also, there are certain ways things should be said. In lesson learned he mentioned the things he learned. He said it was important to have fun. Also, never lose that child like wonder. Finally, he said help others.
Randy Pausch gave a great message. He did a wonderful job and truly spoke to me. It was a wonderful lecture to watch. I have learned so much from watching this. His message will be very hard to forget. I truly enjoyed listening and watching him speak.

Fischbowl January 2007: A Blue Print for Colorado?

This was one of the most interesting posts that I have read so far. The man that wrote this post disagreed with what most of Time magazine had written in the article that he talked about. The article talked about wanting to change the educational system. He wrapped it up in seven steps. You can read his post here:A Blueprint for Colorado
The first two steps talked about if college was the best thing for the future and teacher salaries. He mentioned that by the year 2018 that college might not be the best thing for his daughter. More and more graduates are graduating from college and there will not be enough jobs for them. The second step talked about teachers salaries. It mentioned that they are very low. Also, it said that teachers should be employed by state not local districts on a nationwide scale. Lastly, it mentioned teachers do not teach for the money but for the kids.
The Fourth and Fifth step talked about testing and who should own the schools. It talked about how assessments and cirrculum are for today's needs and tomorrow's future. The standardized test have increased in size. Standardized test represent a level of accomplishment. Step 5 mentioned how schools should be owned by contractors instead of communities. It also mentioned how people only care for compensation and not the students.
The last two steps mentioned high-quality education and giving support to students who need it. It was important that we provided high- quality education to kids at an early age. Also, it was a good opportunity for everyone. In step 7 it mentioned that by giving support it would be good for the economy not for the students. This would allow students to be ready for the job market.

Last Semester's Podcasts

I listened to two great podcast from last semester's classes. They were both very informal. The first podcast that I listened to was about how YouTube can be used for educational purposes by Joel Graham, Noelle Shipman, and Kimberly Kelly. This was a very interesting podcast. They gave great information. It allowed me to find out that YouTube could be used for educational purposes. They did a great job of informing the listener. You can listen to it here:YouTube for Educational Purposes Podcast
This podcast could have been a better. There were several things that could have made it better. They could have not sounded like they were reading off a piece of paper. Also, they could have talked with one another and interacted with each other. To make a better podcast I will try and interact with the other people I am going to do the podcast with. They could have sounded a bit more enthusiastic about what they were talking about.
The second podcast I listened was also a great podcast. It was also very interesting. It mentioned about using facebook in the classroom. That was just very interesting to me how we could possibly incorporate facebook in the classroom. Listen to it here:Possibilities for Using Facebook in the Classroom Podcast
There were some problems with the podcast. They could have spoken clearer. Also, it sounded like they were reading off a piece of paper. Lastly, they could have interacted with one another. Ways that I want my podcast to be good are, speaking clearly and interacting with the other people. This was still a great podcast.

The Fischbowl: Is It Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Karl Fisch's blog was very interesting. He mentions a list of standards for teachers: click Standards to read them. What he says he is so true. He has a valid point with what he is saying.
Technology is limitless and we should have a basic understanding of it if we are planning on using it in the classroom. I believe he is very frustrated by the lack of understanding of it. He finds it very irritating that we are proud of our lack of understanding technology. He believes we should be held to a certain level of understanding of technology.
This was a great blog. It opened my eyes to how important it is to have a better understanding of technology. Technology will always be growing and it is going to become a bigger part of the classroom more and more and it is important to have a better understanding of technology. You can not be technologically illiterate these days and Karl Fisch makes that very clear in his blog.

Podcasts

The first podcast that I listened to was the SmartBoard Lesson Podcast: Teachers Connecting 3 IWB and Smartboarding forcommunity partners. This podcast talked about smartboards and why we should use them.Smartboards allow the whole class to use them. They allow the children to be interactive. While using the smartboards you can touch, drag, and manipulate the object. They also meet the individual needs of students. They also expand the teachers resources. This was a very interesting podcast.
The second podcast that I listened to was Kidcast: Questions Make the World Go Round. It was a podcast by Dan Smicht. In this podcast he talked about how it was important for students to ask questions. He mentioned that questions should be the main focus in learning. He also mentioned how asking questions stimulates academic conversation. Also, by asking questions students learn how to ask good questions. Lastly, he mentioned by asking questions students can go and find the answers.
The third podcast I listened to was EdTech Talk: Teachers are Talking. This podcast allowed teachers to share ideas, practices, and interests with other teachers. They also mentioned ePortfolio. They mainly talked about how important it was for students to have one. It keeps a detailed profile of what they have accomplished in school before going off to college. It also documents their development. It was a very interesting podcast.
The last podcast I listened to was This Week in Photography: Showing off Your Assets. It talked about a variety of things. Some of the things were different types of software for your cameras. Also, it talked about sharing your photos. What I found interesting was that Facebook is one of the biggest ways to share photos with people. This was a great podcast.

International Blogs

The first international blog that I found was located in the UK. The Sandaig Primary School blog really informed the reader. The site gave a variety of quick links for the viewer. Also, it showed the classes work such as pictures, class displays, and older galleries. There are quizzes which are available for students to take on the site. They can also play games as well. They also showed blogs that connected with students around the world. Sandaig Primary School is a great blog to take a look at.

The second international blog that I found was the Shu Ren International School. The Shu Ren International School is a great way for students and parents to stay informed with what is going on in the class. The blog gives frequent updates about the faculty. It mentions what type of after school programs are available. It gives very detailed information about adult classes available to people. The Shu Ren school also mentions its facilities that are available. The Shu Ren International School blog is a great blog site. Click here to take a look at the Shu Ren International School blog.

American Blogs

The advancements in technology are amazing. Teachers can now communicate with their students through blogs. This type of communication allows teachers to keep their students up to date with assignments they need to do. It also keeps the parents up to date with what is going on in the classroom. This is a great way for teachers to communicate and it keeps everybody informed.

The first blog I am going to tell you about is Mrs. Lowe's. Her blog is very detailed and helpful for the students and parents. For her students she offers many helpful ideas. She has put up a calendar for them to keep up with what they are going to do in the class for the day. Also, she has posted spelling words that they can practice. There are also quizzes that they can take to get extra practice. For the parents, she has listed the supplies that the children need for the year. Lastly, she has put a class schedule for the parents so that they can be aware of what is going on in the classroom. Mrs. Lowe interesting blog and seemed very helpful.

The second blog that I read was by Mr. Coley 5th grade class. His blog was very detailed and had some really great resources available to the students. He offers a variety of activities for his students. Some examples of those resources are math activities, social studies activities, and language arts activities. Mr. Coley also has personal greetings that you can hear on his website. He also has student links available for students. There is also a parent site available for the parents. Mr. Coley's site is very easy to use. Click here to preview Mr. Coley's Blog