Blog Assignment Week 7

Richard Miller: This is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

My initial thought about the videos was that this type of communication would be very convenient for most students. Most of us are taking many classes and work part time. One is generally able to watch videos faster than we can read a selection based on the same topic. I love today's new technology, but it seems somewhat intimidating to me. I'm not so sure I like the idea of not having something tangible that I can hold while studying, however. The first video mentioned that even newspapers were beginning to spread the news more through videos online than actual print.

While all of this use of technology is exciting, I differ from most of my peers because I liked things the way they were, to be honest. I prefer an actual text book to an ebook, for example. I mentioned that sharing information via the internet is very convenient for most students, but I'm a small exception. I live in a very small town and am not yet able to even get dsl where I live! Most find this crazy, but it's true. I do all of my online school work between my classes at the University and try my best to get it all done before the weekend, so I won't have to go to a place with wifi. This is sometimes very hard to do with my work schedule.

Another thought I had about these videos was that if we go from reading and writing to watching and listening, couldn't this hinder students' reading and writing skills? Even with today's technology, we will always need good reading and writing skills, and it seems that this type of communication would not promote these core skills. The internet is an amazing tool, but I'm not so sure we're ready to start relying on it quite so much. Both of the videos by Richard Miller did have good aspects, though and showed a great use of resources.

Windy Drexler: Then Networked Student

Wow! The video was very imformative. I'm a bit nervous to think of how technologically literate our students will be. They will be able to connect and learn from people from all over the world. This type of learning is called connectivism, and I'm unsure yet if I'm a supporter. I can definitely see where one could learn many things by connecting with people from different states and even different countries, but the student in the video didn't even have a text book! I realize I sound somewhat "old-fashioned," but I actually like the standard way most students learn and go to school.

The student in the video only went three days a week and did most of his work online. It seems like he was already in college in a way. What if students aren't ready for this? One would have to be very eager to learn and a very diligent student in order to benefit from this. While there are several students that may be described in this way, some need to be pushed a bit more. I'm just wondering if this type of network learning would give a high school student just too much freedom. Some students would probably never do the work and not make any attempt to learn new things or talk to new people.

I honestly don't know if I'm prepared to teach the networked student. I think this type of learning can either be very beneficial or very inefficient. It just depends on the type of student, and as everyone knows, there are many types in the classroom. I can see this being a good form of learning for colleges and even for high school students in their free time. I'm just not so sure that I would support it as the PRIMARY form of learning for anyone below the college level.

Toward A New Future of Whatever by Michael Wesch

I really enjoyed the video by Michael Wesch. I liked how he mentioned major figures in history. I found it very funny when he spoke of how he looked up the history of the word, "whatever." He talked about the "MTV generation." I can relate to this because I've been watching MTV for quite a while! I love how he went through a history of how things on tv and in the world have changed. I could relate to most of the shows and quotes that he mentioned. My generation is known as the "Me" generation, and I understand exactly what he meant when he spoke of how the generation is narcissistic.

Personal Learning Network

For my personal learning network, I started out by obtaining a twitter account. I wasn't exactly sure how to go about all of this networking stuff because I had definitely never done it before. I first added Dr. Strange and looked to see who he was following. When I saw Mr. Chamberlain, I then added him because I knew his name from the earlier assignments Dr. Strange had us do. I also added Karl Fisch and Nicholas Provenzano. On Mr. Provenzano's profile it states that he "brings nerdy ideas to nerdy teachers," so I definitely thought he would be someone interesting to follow. I'm continually adding more and more people that are interested in education and learning stuff that I can't learn about teaching just from sitting in the classroom at USA.