Students say video lectures allow for more napping?

Liz Exo’s Blog Post:

This article describes the ins and outs of video lectures. InterCall did a survey on college students and in their results, over half said they “learn more effectively and improve their grades” when lectures are posted online. This seems to make sense; if students can review the material online again, they can better absorb the information. However, the online lectures have turned into an excuse for skipping class altogether. InterCall also reported that a majority of the students said they would only go to class that day if there was an exam scheduled or if they had to borrow notes from a classmate. This means that online lectures are allowing for students to be lazy by doing a minimal amount of work for their classes.
What really disturbs me about this trend is its implications for the future; if college students would rather take a nap to skip class, how are they going to fare in the real world when they have real jobs? I think this shows the immaturity of a lot of college students.
So, although I do think there are many advantages to the online lectures, I think we need to find a way to keep students in class and only using video lectures as a supplement to their classroom participation.

Gates Foundation launches $20 million program to expand technology use

Liz Exo’s Blog Post:
This article focuses on the advancements in technology use that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to fund to help with college readiness and completion. The Gates Foundation really wants to help out with this cause because, although access to higher education has become more available, by age 30 fewer than half of Americans have earned a college degree. So by funding the use of up-to-date technology for postsecondary education, we can hopefully increase the amount of students that earn a college degree.
Here is the proposal that addresses some specific challenges that should be taken on in the postsecondary education world:
1. Increase the use of “blended learning models” (this means combining face-to-face learning with online learning)
2. Strengthen students’ engagement through interactive technology
3. Support the availability of high-quality open courseware
4. Help institutions, instructors, and students benefit from learning analytics, which can monitor student progress and customize personal support.

The Integration of Web 2.0

This article focuses on schools that are beginning to accept Web 2.0 into not only their classrooms, but into the district in general. In a compendium, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) profiled 6 different school districts that are embracing Web 2.0. This compendium includes a profile of each school district, the ways in which Web 2.0 is incorporated and librarians’ takes on the importance of school media centers when it comes to implementing Web 2.0 into the school districts.

The article acknowledges that Web 2.0 does still have problems and that it is not perfect yet, but also points out that the benefits far outweigh the possible harms. The author also grants that the integration of Web 2.0 will differ greatly; some school districts will be totally open to Web 2.0 and will change lesson plans and teacher tools to incorporate it, and others will only incorporate what is easy for them to do. There will always be different levels of implementation.

I think the article makes a very valid point; some districts will want to change their methods of teaching and will want to integrate Web 2.0, but other districts will wish to stay with the white board and overhead projectors. A lot of school won’t have the financial resources to make the switch, or the teachers may not want to change their methods. I do, however, think that the districts that do incorporate more Web 2.0 will continue to grow and test scores will continue to rise; and the districts that don’t incorporate Web 2.0 will see the difference. Web 2.0 gives students another method of learning; Web 2.0 is hands-on in a way that has not been possible before and I think it can really help students who haven’t necessarily found their perfect learning style yet.

facebook for school?

This article proposes that facebook, or other social networking, if used appropriately, can be beneficial in a school setting. They suggest that by using a group filter or lists to restrict access to certain content of facebook, it could be used as a means of communication to organize group projects and other similar activities. They are adding features such as group chat and document sharing, similar to google docs. The question is whether this is a good idea or not. As of right now, most schools have filters that will not allow access to facebook at school. If the restriciton is lifted for educational purposes, how will that affect learning and the school environment?

From personal experience, I feel that by restricting something, it makes students want it more. I think lifting the ban on it all together might make this less of a problem. I remember in high school people finding proxy sites in order to get around the firewall so that they could use facebook, but it was typically for school related purposes like getting word out about a game or extracurricular event, or trying to track someone down for information for the yearbook. More and more society in general is using facebook to organize things such as events. It's an easy way to get word out about extra-curricular activities for people still in school, but maybe not so much for curriculum based usage. I do feel that there maybe should be some sort of facebook tutorial or something about internet safety presented in classes, because, as much as educators don't want to admit, things like facebook are part of our culture and society and most people don't really know how to use it correctly. Only five percent of facebook users actually take advantage of the privacy and safety controls, which is a very minute number when one thinks about it. The executive director for the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use "From [an online] safety perspective, I think this is really helpful, because it will allow young people to set up groups based on degrees of trust,” said Willard. “[But] there are other Web 2.0 platforms that I think are far more geared for effective educational use. To my knowledge, Facebook does not have a team of educational professionals who are working with [the web site] to design specific educational products.” Which is why I feel that facebook should be allowed in high school, but maybe only after school for extracurriculars rather than classroom related things. I still think google apps and other similar, free internet sites would be better suited for that purpose.

Technology access law helps those with special education needs

This article described a new law that will give Americans with disabilities better access to critical technologies. Personally, I found this interesting because a close family member of mine is handicapped. Oftentimes, new pieces of technology can be overwhelming and confusing for him to navigate and understand. I would be very grateful if companies could create software and devices that are more user friendly.
Especially as a future educator, I am saddened to know that a lot of technologies are literally inaccessible to so many people. I'm actually surprised that more hasn't been done up until this point with technology for disabled people. Technology can be a great asset in the classroom to people who may not always be able to do the same things as the rest of the students. For example, a student who has difficulties speaking can use a keyboard projected onto a screen to convey his or her ideas to a classroom and therefore can be a very active part of class conversations.
Overall, I am excited to see the changes that will be taking place in the technological world to make devices more accessible not only for the disabled, but for everyone.

Online Privacy Education

This article focuses on the Rutgers University tragedy and asks the question: Do we need to provide more online privacy education to students? A student, Tyler Clementi, was filmed by his roommate and one of the roommate's friends without his knowledge or consent, and a video of Clementi having sex was posted on the internet. A few days after the video was posted, he committed suicide.
This incident is causing leaders on college campuses nation-wide to consider making online privacy education necessary for incoming students. I personally think this is a great idea. I don't know how many people realize that even if you delete a Facebook comment or a Tweet, it doesn't matter. Someone, somewhere probably saw it the second that person posted it. Just because someone thinks a phrase is harmless, or an act is a joke or that it's just between friends, as soon as it is on the web, anyone can see it. I think it is really important for students to know things like that. Even if most students know this information, a lot don't. I'm sure the roommate who posted the video never realized that people all over the world would be - or could be - looking at his Twitter account page or his Facebook wall, but they are. Posting one video, or making one comment can literally change a person's life. It definitely has changed the lives of the students at Rutgers University.

SmartBoard Response

I am very glad we worked with SmartBoard in this class. I was not familiar with SmartBoard when we started, because at my high school we were still using overhead projectors in every classroom.

I feel that this technology is in the beginning stages and that it will keep getting better and be easier to use and better to teach with. SmartBoard has the wonderful ability to cater to different learning styles at once because of the combination of visual, auditory and hands-on aspects of the software. I was always really lucky in that I am generally an auditory learner, but most of my friends are visual learners. The fact that SmartBoard can include videos, pictures, and even demonstrations can really help visual learners whereas sometimes a plain white board or an overhead projector just aren’t good enough.

Even though this technology is fantastic, there are always downsides. For me, the main downside was the difficulty I had including multimedia in my project. I am not very good with computers, so I had to make a lot of phone calls when I couldn’t transfer a YouTube video into a flash file or into just an audio clip. Fortunately, I have friends that are good with technology, but some people may not have those resources. Also, when my file got too large, my computer would either freeze or totally shut down when I was trying to transfer my file onto my flash drive.

Overall however, I think this is a great new piece of technology that is only going to get better. This is potentially the beginning of a new era in education, in which we can cater to all learning styles at once.