week 4

I think these pas few weeks I am started to learn that things are just not what they might seem to be.  I need to not be so stringent in my thinking and step out of the box every now and then.  When Postman talks about IQ's, statistics, numbers, I started thinking about how much our lifes are ruled by numbers.  We place kids in prgrams - gifted/special ed - based on a number, my daughter is going to college this year and what school she gets into and if she might get scholarship money will be based on a number.  Do these numbers truly show if she can or cannot do the work?  No, although her ACT score is good, she can still get to college and bomb!  My son got a terrible score and the school counselor even told him that he wouldn't be accepted into college because of his low score, however, he is in his second year of grad school so what did that number show?  nothing!  Our jobs depend on numbers - test scores, productivity, ect, but these scores don't give an actual pictures of what many of he kids can do.  They have test anxiety, they come to school hungry and tired, or they listened to their parents fight all night so how in the world could we expect these scores to truly show what the kids are capable of.  Are some of the scores a true picture?  sure, but not all of them and we need to stop taking everything we read or hear as gospel.  I like the idea that maybe this whole book that Postman has written has been like a huge hoax!  What a great thought - it could be - the scary thing is is that there are many like me that since I was told to read this book by a professor, and I consider it a textbook it has to be the truth right?  I've been trained not to question those in authority it is hard for me to change my twisted way of thinking .....but I'm trying

week 3 synthesis

I am learning that I shouldn't take everything so matter of factly.  After reading Dr. Lowell's comment to my previous post I felt upset with myself for being so judgemental.  Times have changed, and what we once saw as filling our minds with usless information - such as video games - needs to be looked at as possibly filling the mind with useful information.  We might not want to admit it, but the future is computers and technology as such.  These children are leanring how to operate systems and expanding their imagination that could possibly create some life saving machine.  Many, including myself, might have seen these children as lazy individuals wasting their time on video games ect, but I need to broaden my mind and see that they are learning as well, learning the mechanics of the future.

Week 3

There are so many different cultures in this world, not only different countries but different sections of the US and breaking it down even further into our own towns.  However, these days its funny that no matter where you are you can see people on their phones texting, listen to music via their iPods  or on laptops - technology is everywhere no matter how affluent or poverished the culture is!! On page 60 Postman says "But the genie that came out of the bottle proclaiming that information was the new god of culture was a deceiver."  I have to agree with this statement.  Although technology is good in so many ways, I feel that it has also disavantaged our society in many ways.  I think of young children who just sit on the couch playing video games and immerse themselves in these fantasy worlds insteach of moving and intereacting with real people.  Many have become obese and I think have lost touch with reality.  I realize their parents are a big part of allowing them to do this, but if their wasn't any video games ect they would have to find another way to get the children out of their hair.  Yes, the internet has given our students/children so many wonderful experiences such as being able to learn about other cultures via interactive webcams, live video cameras, and interactive books, but quite too often it is not used for such, it is more than often used for fun and pleasure which is leading us to a culture of laziness and the need for instant gratification - I know I loose my patience quite often when looking for something on the internet - I want it at my fingertips!!

Week 2 Synthesis

I have to admit that this week I really feel that I haven't learned much.  Frankly, this blog thing confuses me.  I am having a hard time trying to figure out which ones are posts and which ones are comments and what in the world am I supposed to comment on!  I have the reader set up and added everyones initial blog and then their comment address as well, but it's just getting all jumbled. Unfortunately I'd say my confusion is because of my age - I didn't grow up with computers, and although I feel that I am a little tech savy, I beleive that I might just be fooling myself!  So what have I learned this week?  I'm old and easily confused LOL!  My goal this week is to get this thing straightened out so the rest of the semester will go somewhat smoothly.

Week 2

First of all I am going to apologize ahead of time for rambling on, I seem to do that alot, and I've been a little confused with the reading so when I'm writing down my thoughts they often just do not make sense!  Oh well, here goes nothing ........
After reading the chapters and listening to Dr. Lowell's podcasts, I am trying to wrap my mind around that it seems everything around is can be considered technology.  I always think of technology as computers, video phones, or really those items that can connect us to others.  I've never thought of the classroom as technology and definately not speech or writing.  However, as I previously said I thought of technology as items that connect us to others and isn't that what speech and writing does?  connect us to others?  So I am starting to expand my ideas on technology.  Postman also speaks of the good and bad of technology and I have always thought that everything about technology wasn't as wonderful as they made it out to be.  I think of our loss of privacy in using computers and connecting to the WWW.  How many times have I been hacked into in Facebook, or the tonz of spam eamils trying to elicite my personnel information, and let's face it, you know the government can follow everything we do on here - they might even be reading this post LOL!  Yes, I do sound a little paranoid!  There is a flipside to every coin, and so it is with technology.  Look at history - as factories become more streamlined with technology people lost their jobs, guns not only help feed the pioneers, but killed many of them as well.
I am having a time pushing myself through these first few chapters, and I hope the rest will not be so hard to grasp, I just think he is a negative writer.  On page 11 at the top of the page he talks about teaching children how to use computers, but not teaching what is really important and if I am to understand this correctly he is calling teachers losers for this.  I think that kids do need to know how to use the computer because that is what this world is moving towards and everything will be accessed through some type of technology.  So are we losers?  I don't think so we are trying to get them ready for society in the future.  Yes, there are the basic reading, writing, and arithmatic that they need to know, but let's face it, if they can't opperate a computer they will usless in the future society.  Well, my rambling is done for today - I'm going to go and try to figure Mr. Postman out a little bit more :0)

Technology and the classroom

Looking at all the different technology that we will be using for this class, it makes my head spin a little when I think about incorporating it all into the classroom.  See, I'm a speech therapist, therefore my therapy sessions are not necessary considered a classroom - well in my eyes that is.  However, I have been using the iPad and different computer software in my sessions for a while now and the kids love it.  I think they enjoy the animations and interactoin of the technology more so than just working with paper and pencil.  I have used a feed reader and blog before for other classes, but just didn't keep up with them after the class, but I think the feed reader is something that I do need to continue to use to keep up with what is going on in the world and new therapy ideas.  I bought my daugther an ereader for Christmas and she loves it so much that I am thinking about getting me one.  I do like the idea of instant gratification of a book to read when I want it - it just amazes me how advanced we are becoming in this world  - will library become nonexistant in the future?  My science fiction mind tells me they will.

Technology, Education, and culture how do they relate to each other?

When pondering this question, my first thought is that technology and culture drive our education.  The technology our kids our using these days has advance so far beyond what I ever thought possible, and many of the ways I might use to teach - as well as others my age - just does not grab their attention anymore.  They are so use to gadets giving them instant information and satisfaction that we must incorporate some of this new technology into our lessons or else we will loose them.  I am a speech therapist in the schools, and although my lessons are not the same as a classroom teacher, I have also found that incorporating some type of technology into my sessions engages the students better.  For example, I often use flash cards for drill and practice of particular misarticlated sounds.  I have an iPad at work and have purchased a flashcard app this is almost identical to the hand held deck I usually use.  However, I have found that when I use the iPad for drill and practice the students are more engaged in practicing their sounds and enjoy the sessions more.  I often think that they enjoy using equipment that many of their friends do not have, and learning how to operate it intrigues them.  I would love to has a Smart Board in my room since there are some many wonderful applications you could use to enhance lessons, but at last, I'm just a lowly speech therapist and those high above do see fit to grant me this wish - they don't feel it is practical for therapy :0(