It’s The End Of The World As We Know It!
Ok, well not really…but it’s interesting to think about, right?
So, it might not be the end of the world but it IS the end off this project as well as nearing the end of the class/semester. Through this winter semester, we have done a lot in learning about and putting to practice, many of the concepts of writing as well as teaching writing. We were all encouraged, during this blog project, to explore aspects of education that we found interesting and appealing as future educators. I believe that by allowing us to take this project into our own hands the way we were allowed to really put a higher emphasis on the meaning behind it. As students, I’m sure we can all relate to the teacher who gave an assignment with a very specific topic in mind. These, many times, were not done whole heatedly since there was little room for personal opinion and/or change. However, by allowing individuals (ourselves as well as our future students) to choose their own topics, things they care about, it is easier to make the assignments more meaningful as well as making sure that, in the end, pride is taken in the completed project.
I very much enjoyed doing this RSS project. I feel that the freedom we had, as well as the large amount of information we were able to uncover, was priceless. I was able to learn, not only a great deal more then what I already knew about my own topic, but also about the topics chosen by my fellow classmates. Similar to the effects of the doing a research project in school, where the teacher allowed you to choose your research topic. I was able to, also, learn a lot more about RSS feeds, aggregates and blogs. The countless ways that they can be used in the classroom, by both students and teachers alike, makes these technological advancements such an amazing attribute to our education systems.
As a class, we were assigned to do a “This I believe” essay. At first, these seemed a little unusual to me for an assignment in this sort of class. It wasn’t until we had heard some examples and started writing our own that I was fully able to understand the meaning behind the phrase, “This I believe..”. As student’s many of us have a somewhat clear understanding of what we want in life. However, as college students, this is also after more years of life experiences. As future educators, we will find our selves encountering student’s from every walk of life as well as every mental, physical and emotional standing. Writing our own “This I believe..” essays were a look into this future (at least for myself). I found myself looking deeper inside of me and realizing that there were things I believed in that I hadn’t considered a dominant part of my life. As a college student and future teacher, I believe that this is something that all students should come to realize in their lives and in many cases, the sooner the better. We have to show our students, especially the ones who struggle through their academic career, that it’s what they believe in that will make them who they are.
On my topic:
I have found so much more information about the Deaf community and culture then I ever knew before. I being able to sign up on Alldeaf.com (which is NOT a Deaf only forum), I was able to be in contact and read blogs/watch vlogs by other Deaf/deaf/hard of hearing/hearing people who share many of my similar intersts as well as learn, first hand, about the culture from those who live in it everyday of their lives. I believe that everyone should look into some aspect of a society that they are not directly related to and look at how others live. You can’t fully understand or accept diversity if you have not experienced or learned about how ‘the other side’ lives.
I would like to conclude this final entry with a few, more personal words. First of all, I think that we, as a society and especially as educators, need to reexamine the world around us. There is so much that needs to change if we are going to continue to life and breathe in this world. Government, politics, the environment, the education system, diversity, cultural identity, equality…
These are all things that we have to believe in and fight for in order to keep us together. Pro this or con that, it shouldn’t matter. Stand strong as an individual and stand together as a race: the human race.
And then I said…
Instead of ‘Bright Ideas’…
Techno-savvy Ideas is the way to go!
Professor Rozema was one of many presenters at the 6th annual Teaching & Learning with Technology Fair on March 21st, 2007. This conference was focused on how to allow teachers to take advantage of the new technology that is constantly being updated in our society. With presentations ranging from how to make the most of Blackboard to iPods and podcasts to virtual worlds in the classrooms, educations is adapting to the techno-age at such a pace that it is almost impossible to deny the impact it will have on our future leaders.
The keynote speaker for the conference was Dr. Peter Doolittle and no, for anyone wondering, he did not discuss how talking to animals can help in education. His opening presentation brought up many good points. His discussion included how different educators have different expectations for their students to learn. He gave a number of examples of how assignments, depending on the language used in the instructions or the purpose of the assignment, can either help students learn or simply make things more difficult. Bringing technology into the classroom is a very important part of connecting to the recent generation. Dr. Doolittle was a straightforward and clear speaking presenter when it came to discussing how we, as future and current educators, need to believe in the idea of giving students a chance to combine their interest in technology and the education they are receiving from us.
I also attended a presentation by Professor Gisella Licari, the only Italian professor at GVSU. Her Italian 202 class, along with a 5th grade class from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary School (IHM), put together a collection of digital fairy tales. The elementary school students drew pictures, which were scanned and given to the GVSU students for them to create stories from. The connection between the hand-made drawings and the final images on the screen helped show the way to bring technology into all classrooms. Using the video programs, which were on the Mac system provided, the Italian students were able to take the images of the drawings, piece them together in a linear story and create a fairy tale in the Italian language. I was very impressed, not only with the level of technical aspects used but also at the combination of the two, formerly separate, art forms. Virtual story telling is a great way to engage students, especially those currently in younger grades, who have grown up with a generation of techno-savvy predecessors.
Sally Hipp, of the College of Education, gave a presentation on Blackboard learning systems, but more specifically, the use of Bb learning Units. I’m sure we’ve all, at some point, had to use Blackboard. Whether for checking grades, collaborative learning or just checking the syllabus because you forgot what the next reading was for your class in under an hour. Blackboard is a system that, while many teachers and professors use it frequently, many other do not use it or do not understand it’s full potential. This presentation focused on Learning Units. Since information can be easily uploaded onto the Blackboard site and made readily available to any students signed in, Learning Units are a great way to keep the students interactive with the material outside of the classroom. By having images, videos, articles, assignments and other such materials on Blackboard, students are able to get to what they need in a matter of seconds while still working on what they need to accomplish. They are also able to collaborate with other students regarding the information to further learning and group discussions. Allowing the students to have access to this will help in preparing them for the next class.
Finally, we had our very own Dr. Rozema. His presentation on educating with a computer generated world was very different from the other presentations. Dr. Rozema discussed how so many students (81%) already play some version of an online game, that why not put this popular concept to good use and apply it to the classroom. His project; “The Thoughtcrime Project”, was a look at 1984 by George Orwell through a virtual world called Second Life. Second Life is a mulit-user environment online people, in this case, students, could develop a character and persona within this world, having complete control over their appearance, attitude and anything else they wish to express. While in the world, they are able to interact with other students and discuss their opinions on the world, society or whatever else it is that is occurring at the time. This gives the students more freedom to be open and expressive without having the fear of ‘looking stupid’ by saying it in class. Through their alternate personalities (which they can change at will), they are able to, more freely, have in-depth conversations with their teachers and fellow students. By allowing the students to discuss these topics through a medium that they understand and relate to, we are allowing them to be-able to truly get their feelings out without holding back. This project is currently under-consideration for a $30,000 grant which would allow the Second Life world to become more of a reality to develop and, possibly, more accessible for teachers nation wide.
Overall, it was a very interesting conference. The many presentations cover many different technical disciplines, as well as different ways that other subjects can be taught with the aid of the ever advancing technology we have available to us.
