For a long time I was always the kid without a computer for two reasons; My parents could not afford a computer and they thought it would make their kids lazy. They eventually found the money to buy a brand new Macintosh in 1996, I was in 5th grade. My parents were right, all my brother and I used the thing for was to play games and instant message online. Due to my parents jobs they had no need for the computer and therefore had a difficult time justifying the investment. That computer was thrown out about 3 years ago. My mother still does not care to know how the computer "turns on" and my father only uses his company laptop to look at business quotes.
Fortunately, I had access to computers through school and could manage my time appropriately in order to do computer based assignments. Many of the computers (especially the drafting computers) were purchased with grant money obtained by Mr. McDaniel, he was a math and industrial technology teacher at Sandy High. Without his efforts, my marketability in 2010 would be greatly diminished. Swain & Edyburn (2007) said, "80% of jobs in the next two decades will require workers to be technologically fluent."
I think teachers and parents who avoid technology do their students a great disservice in the long run. I am a prime example of this, by all accounts I should be a Digital Native, but in actuality I posses the qualities that reflect a Digital Imigant. This fact is ultimately my own fault, but without teachers pushing the integration of technology in the curriculum I would have been at a complete disadvantage in undergrad.
As a future teacher I believe integration of computer work is not always the easiest thing to do, especially for students who lack the appropriate screen time. I do not believe this is an adequate excuse for teacher to throw technology out the window altogether. Even the disadvantaged students will eventually need to find a job and poor computer skills are going to limit opportunities in future job markets.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Power Point Blog
Math-
Learning where the human race derives our concept of time was a very interesting topic and the power point presentation was very effective for accentuating the facts. (364-365 days) Months are from lunar movements. The concept of day references the rotation of earth. The hour was determined by the obelisk or the Egyptian shadow clock and the Babylonians really liked the number 12. Minutes and seconds are measured by the amount of time an atom pulses. The only part of this presentation that was slightly distracting was the quiet background music that played through some of the slides. Our math lesson with Noelle was fantastic, I generally dislike math, but math can really help me save money when I need to buy a prom dress. Math can make your life easier!
History-
Women’s suffrage and the history behind the right to vote, August 1920. The map that showed full suffrage rights through a state by state example, this slide was the best slide because it could have been extremely interactive. It was very interesting to see the western states all had suffrage upon their founding. Lots of words on a couple of slides (we were told to avoid complicated slides), but all the information was relevant and interesting facts about the states. The Night of Terror; women were arrested for protesting and assaulted for their beliefs. The best part was that Mississippi had neglected to change their laws until 1973.
Health-
Youth violence statistics within the education system are alarming, example - 6% took a gun or a knife to school within the last year. Those are just the students who were caught or admitted these things. The main point behind this lesson was directed at teachers and not students through the idea of being someone who makes a difference for these students. Youth resources offered a practicality to this lesson that appeals to students. This presentation was very simple and drove all the material home, the take home message was evident for all audience members. The only thing I would improve would be to make the slides more interesting with real life pictures and not just the pictures provided by the computer software.
Business-
Leadership styles brought to us by the New York Yankees. George Steinbrenner’s leadership style, “My way or the Highway.” Consequences of this type of leadership style results in hatred, burned bridges, and banishment. But the stats show this business technique can be very effective if it is used by the right personality and everyone buys into the system. The Seinfeld video was perfect for the tone of the overall presentation. One more slide was needed to show the class a side by side comparison of the pros and cons of Steinbrenner's leadership strategy
Physics-
Conjunction junction what’s your function? Electricity school house rock was amazing. Voltage is described as the potential difference, and is known as a scalar. Always from a high potential to a low potential, to measure the potential a resistor is use to inhibit the flow of the system (Voltage/Resistance). Topic was pointed and slides illustrate very simple building blocks to current. The only thing I think the presentation was lacking would be real life examples to help students relate to the topic of current.
Spanish-
High school Spanish class, I thought I served my time in a foreign language class, but I was horribly mistaken. I learned more in a ten minute visual power point presentation then I did in two years of verbal instruction under she who must not be named. The only thing I think could have been improved was the arrows linking vocabulary and definitions needed to be darker and come into the field one at a time. Muy Bien, mucho divertido!!!
My Own Presentation-
After observing all the power point presentations I realized that my topic of Acute Mountain Sickness was limited in animations and one of my slides had too much information on it, similar to the History presentation. I think I forgot to talk about my own personal experience with climbing Mt. Hood and I should have had a small prompt somewhere in my 3rd slide for that.
Pros-Cons-
I think power point is a very appropriate and useful tool for both middle and high school educators. Power Point allows the teacher to save lessons and reference previous topics very easily. The only problem I foresee with power point is the grand amount of time it takes to put the slides together; the start up cost in terms of time is expensive. Also teachers who use power point presentations too often can actually lose their audience.
Learning where the human race derives our concept of time was a very interesting topic and the power point presentation was very effective for accentuating the facts. (364-365 days) Months are from lunar movements. The concept of day references the rotation of earth. The hour was determined by the obelisk or the Egyptian shadow clock and the Babylonians really liked the number 12. Minutes and seconds are measured by the amount of time an atom pulses. The only part of this presentation that was slightly distracting was the quiet background music that played through some of the slides. Our math lesson with Noelle was fantastic, I generally dislike math, but math can really help me save money when I need to buy a prom dress. Math can make your life easier!
History-
Women’s suffrage and the history behind the right to vote, August 1920. The map that showed full suffrage rights through a state by state example, this slide was the best slide because it could have been extremely interactive. It was very interesting to see the western states all had suffrage upon their founding. Lots of words on a couple of slides (we were told to avoid complicated slides), but all the information was relevant and interesting facts about the states. The Night of Terror; women were arrested for protesting and assaulted for their beliefs. The best part was that Mississippi had neglected to change their laws until 1973.
Health-
Youth violence statistics within the education system are alarming, example - 6% took a gun or a knife to school within the last year. Those are just the students who were caught or admitted these things. The main point behind this lesson was directed at teachers and not students through the idea of being someone who makes a difference for these students. Youth resources offered a practicality to this lesson that appeals to students. This presentation was very simple and drove all the material home, the take home message was evident for all audience members. The only thing I would improve would be to make the slides more interesting with real life pictures and not just the pictures provided by the computer software.
Business-
Leadership styles brought to us by the New York Yankees. George Steinbrenner’s leadership style, “My way or the Highway.” Consequences of this type of leadership style results in hatred, burned bridges, and banishment. But the stats show this business technique can be very effective if it is used by the right personality and everyone buys into the system. The Seinfeld video was perfect for the tone of the overall presentation. One more slide was needed to show the class a side by side comparison of the pros and cons of Steinbrenner's leadership strategy
Physics-
Conjunction junction what’s your function? Electricity school house rock was amazing. Voltage is described as the potential difference, and is known as a scalar. Always from a high potential to a low potential, to measure the potential a resistor is use to inhibit the flow of the system (Voltage/Resistance). Topic was pointed and slides illustrate very simple building blocks to current. The only thing I think the presentation was lacking would be real life examples to help students relate to the topic of current.
Spanish-
High school Spanish class, I thought I served my time in a foreign language class, but I was horribly mistaken. I learned more in a ten minute visual power point presentation then I did in two years of verbal instruction under she who must not be named. The only thing I think could have been improved was the arrows linking vocabulary and definitions needed to be darker and come into the field one at a time. Muy Bien, mucho divertido!!!
My Own Presentation-
After observing all the power point presentations I realized that my topic of Acute Mountain Sickness was limited in animations and one of my slides had too much information on it, similar to the History presentation. I think I forgot to talk about my own personal experience with climbing Mt. Hood and I should have had a small prompt somewhere in my 3rd slide for that.
Pros-Cons-
I think power point is a very appropriate and useful tool for both middle and high school educators. Power Point allows the teacher to save lessons and reference previous topics very easily. The only problem I foresee with power point is the grand amount of time it takes to put the slides together; the start up cost in terms of time is expensive. Also teachers who use power point presentations too often can actually lose their audience.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Amusing ourselves to death....
I can’t keep up with the pace of technology even when aided by my ADD mentality. I agree with John Son in that students have developed an amazing ability to multi-task and it will help them succeed in our fast paced world; there is no doubt in my mind that this is true. I too can multitask, but I hit limitations like typing and listening to music results in lost thoughts and fragmented sentence structure. Another example of a multitasking limitation is that my pace slows considerably and all my projects seem to be completed at the same time. I am also male which hinders multi-tasking due to biological brain development. Whatever the case may be I agree that multi-tasking skills are very valuable.
However, I think the instant gratification provided by technology makes big questions very difficult to process for many people. Technology allows people to flit from one topic to the next so easily that only a superficial understanding of the world results. I have a cousin who races from one activity to the next in pursuit of entertainment and when he sits alone with his thoughts he admittedly does not like the company he keeps. I believe it is important to take the time away from the hustle and bustle for no other reason then breathing. Ask any student, in any high school class when was the last time you looked at the stars? They are all awake well into the night, yet it would not surprise me if any of them said “twice this week.” There are bigger things in this world then the activities most of us choose to occupy our time with, for this reason I do not watch sports, I do not watch more then 15 minutes of T.V. a day, and my e-mail has not been checked more then twice this week. I have spent two nights sitting around a campfire with my family talking about books, beliefs, and how our day had been. I spent at least an hour talking with my grandmother, listening to her tell a story about the depression (not kidding). I went on a hike to a place I had never been before (angels rest) and I rafted the Clackamas River with my brother and little sister, it has been a fantastic week. These are things that I will remember forever, how did you spend your time? Did you multi-task all week or did you allow yourself to focus and develop your soul?
“I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments,” Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
Marcovitz, D.M. Son, J.D. (2008). Is Educational Technology Shortening Student Attention Spans? Learning and Leading with Technology: Aug, 2008.
However, I think the instant gratification provided by technology makes big questions very difficult to process for many people. Technology allows people to flit from one topic to the next so easily that only a superficial understanding of the world results. I have a cousin who races from one activity to the next in pursuit of entertainment and when he sits alone with his thoughts he admittedly does not like the company he keeps. I believe it is important to take the time away from the hustle and bustle for no other reason then breathing. Ask any student, in any high school class when was the last time you looked at the stars? They are all awake well into the night, yet it would not surprise me if any of them said “twice this week.” There are bigger things in this world then the activities most of us choose to occupy our time with, for this reason I do not watch sports, I do not watch more then 15 minutes of T.V. a day, and my e-mail has not been checked more then twice this week. I have spent two nights sitting around a campfire with my family talking about books, beliefs, and how our day had been. I spent at least an hour talking with my grandmother, listening to her tell a story about the depression (not kidding). I went on a hike to a place I had never been before (angels rest) and I rafted the Clackamas River with my brother and little sister, it has been a fantastic week. These are things that I will remember forever, how did you spend your time? Did you multi-task all week or did you allow yourself to focus and develop your soul?
“I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments,” Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
Marcovitz, D.M. Son, J.D. (2008). Is Educational Technology Shortening Student Attention Spans? Learning and Leading with Technology: Aug, 2008.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Cyber Bullying...
Cyber bullying is a real issue with alot of students, sometimes manifesting themselves in horrible ways. Like the students who take the riddicule especially hard, resulting in suicide. So as teachers what can we do about it? And should teachers feel responsible for monitoring cyber bullying?
In the very last article Lynn Wietecha adresses the reality of teachers holding students accountable for their cyber activity outside of class. I agree with Lynn in that it is simply not realistic to monitor students outside of class. The only real thing I think we can do is show students that this type of activity is not to be tollerated. Students need to feel comfortable reporting their cyber activity and know that they will have annoymity when they approch a teacher with sensitive meterial. I do not think the school should take responsibility for students activity outside the classroom, it just doesn't make sense. Parents should uphold their end of things and keep track of their students activity in cyber space. If a student gets into a physical or verbal confrontation outside of school it is up to the police adress the problem, I think if teachers should be held responsible for cyber bullying then teachers should also address the physical and verbal altercations that occur between students on the weekends. There will be volunteer police officer training made available to all the teachers... Of course I'm being sarcastic, but this is the reality of the situation. If we are simply looking for someone to blame for these tragedies then lets look at students and parents before we point the finger at the school system.
In the very last article Lynn Wietecha adresses the reality of teachers holding students accountable for their cyber activity outside of class. I agree with Lynn in that it is simply not realistic to monitor students outside of class. The only real thing I think we can do is show students that this type of activity is not to be tollerated. Students need to feel comfortable reporting their cyber activity and know that they will have annoymity when they approch a teacher with sensitive meterial. I do not think the school should take responsibility for students activity outside the classroom, it just doesn't make sense. Parents should uphold their end of things and keep track of their students activity in cyber space. If a student gets into a physical or verbal confrontation outside of school it is up to the police adress the problem, I think if teachers should be held responsible for cyber bullying then teachers should also address the physical and verbal altercations that occur between students on the weekends. There will be volunteer police officer training made available to all the teachers... Of course I'm being sarcastic, but this is the reality of the situation. If we are simply looking for someone to blame for these tragedies then lets look at students and parents before we point the finger at the school system.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
1. After I “Googled,” myself I have found that there is one other Josh Kanable in the world who lives in Fort Myers, FL. I really hope there will never be mistaken identity issues between myself and the man who unfortunately shares my name. I should not speak too soon, but I believe I have avoided the career pitfalls associated with internet self publicity. The only things I found were old ski racing results from high school and PNSA races. http://www.owt.com/seltech/alsra/2003race/hsrace.htm The good news is I came in 4th place.
was slightly concerned to find my address and lists of all my family members through www.pipl.com. http://www.peoplefinders.com/search/searchpreview.aspx?searchtype=people-name&fn=joshua&mn=a&ln=Kanable&city=boring&state=OR&age=&utm_source=pipl&utm_campaign=address
2. The reason for this concern is due to the fact that I think everyone has the right to choose who can be trusted with this kind of personal information. I do not think this information should be available to my future students or anyone for that matter, unless I personally give them my approval. I do not have anything to hide; I take this stance due to the principle.
3. I believe teachers should be held to held accountable for their actions just the same as anyone else in the community. Teachers must be mindful of the microscope placed over the lives of them and their family. If a teacher’s speech violates the ethical standards set by the community and the school then by all means they should be called out on it, but as for freedom of speech teachers should be allowed to say anything they wish outside of school. Anytime an employee bashes or slanders the institution in which they are currently employed it is grounds for dismissal. The problem here stems from writing down thoughts and ideas which are used as evidence to build a case for dismissal. Evidence like facebook, blogs, emails, pictures, and texts are easily copied and filed away. When someone holds the defendants blog in their hands it leaves the jury with a very easy decision because there is no longer a room for denial. For reasons such as this I generally avoid penning or typing my unfiltered thoughts for the world to see.
4. I could not believe that the teacher mentioned on page 2 (Alyssa) would allow students to view her Facebook account, or any teacher for that matter. I think actions like this invite student investigation into a teacher’s personal life. I do not encourage on-line self promotion for anyone, the risk in my opinion outweighs the possible benefits. It only takes one wrong word or one ill advised photo to ruin a career.
5. Protecting myself does not involve crawling into a technological hole or going back to the views of 1915, but it does require carful thought and consideration to every word typed into the virtual world. Reputation precedes each of us and it is always nice to make a good first impression.
was slightly concerned to find my address and lists of all my family members through www.pipl.com. http://www.peoplefinders.com/search/searchpreview.aspx?searchtype=people-name&fn=joshua&mn=a&ln=Kanable&city=boring&state=OR&age=&utm_source=pipl&utm_campaign=address
2. The reason for this concern is due to the fact that I think everyone has the right to choose who can be trusted with this kind of personal information. I do not think this information should be available to my future students or anyone for that matter, unless I personally give them my approval. I do not have anything to hide; I take this stance due to the principle.
3. I believe teachers should be held to held accountable for their actions just the same as anyone else in the community. Teachers must be mindful of the microscope placed over the lives of them and their family. If a teacher’s speech violates the ethical standards set by the community and the school then by all means they should be called out on it, but as for freedom of speech teachers should be allowed to say anything they wish outside of school. Anytime an employee bashes or slanders the institution in which they are currently employed it is grounds for dismissal. The problem here stems from writing down thoughts and ideas which are used as evidence to build a case for dismissal. Evidence like facebook, blogs, emails, pictures, and texts are easily copied and filed away. When someone holds the defendants blog in their hands it leaves the jury with a very easy decision because there is no longer a room for denial. For reasons such as this I generally avoid penning or typing my unfiltered thoughts for the world to see.
4. I could not believe that the teacher mentioned on page 2 (Alyssa) would allow students to view her Facebook account, or any teacher for that matter. I think actions like this invite student investigation into a teacher’s personal life. I do not encourage on-line self promotion for anyone, the risk in my opinion outweighs the possible benefits. It only takes one wrong word or one ill advised photo to ruin a career.
5. Protecting myself does not involve crawling into a technological hole or going back to the views of 1915, but it does require carful thought and consideration to every word typed into the virtual world. Reputation precedes each of us and it is always nice to make a good first impression.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Digital Native???
Am I a Digital Native?
By all the readings and the video I should be classified as a Digital Native, but I will admit I have written most of this assignment on a sheet of paper before publishing through the keyboard.
I have refused to embrace the technology I grew up around. I naively believed computers were a passing fad and therefore went about living my life in denial. Of course I used computers and video games to supplement my personal entertainment, but I have never felt the need to understand the digital language. The value of instant gratification provided by technologies was never very enticing. This is exemplified in my personal e-mail account; I can honestly say I never checked my college e-mail account the entire four years I attended school. There are thousands of unread e-mails in my account and I am still here, my world has not imploded and I hold a degree in my hand. I think the issue stems from my priorities. By all accounts I am an essentialist and will possibly struggle to expand my appreciation for technologies and the instant gratification that inundates our nation’s youth.
The one thing I agree with is the lack of reflection our youth experiences today. When students flit from one topic to another constantly it results in a never ending chain of entertainment. This poses the question, do students take time out of their lives to reflect upon what they believe and why? I personally have put these issues at the top of my life priority list, and maybe I am inferring that everyone else should adopt my priorities. I understand the fallacy here of imposing my views upon others, but the development of character relies upon self reflection.
I do not advocate my personal approach to dealing with the tech world because it makes it very difficult to communicate with students who learn and live through technologies. These articles do present some hope for educators like myself, “I can change.” Neurological research through the study of rats shows that brains are malleable throughout life and change based upon experiences. Our thinking patterns can change depending upon our experiences and the activities we take the time to concentrate on. I have already started walking down the road of technological understanding. For example: I showed my spouse the website I created and she was stunned. She said, “You really are growing up!” I will take the patronizing in stride mainly because I deserve it. I have avoided my digital native heritage for long enough, so it is time to step out of my hole and embrace technology for the sake of holding the attention of students who increasingly obtain information through tech media.
By all the readings and the video I should be classified as a Digital Native, but I will admit I have written most of this assignment on a sheet of paper before publishing through the keyboard.
I have refused to embrace the technology I grew up around. I naively believed computers were a passing fad and therefore went about living my life in denial. Of course I used computers and video games to supplement my personal entertainment, but I have never felt the need to understand the digital language. The value of instant gratification provided by technologies was never very enticing. This is exemplified in my personal e-mail account; I can honestly say I never checked my college e-mail account the entire four years I attended school. There are thousands of unread e-mails in my account and I am still here, my world has not imploded and I hold a degree in my hand. I think the issue stems from my priorities. By all accounts I am an essentialist and will possibly struggle to expand my appreciation for technologies and the instant gratification that inundates our nation’s youth.
The one thing I agree with is the lack of reflection our youth experiences today. When students flit from one topic to another constantly it results in a never ending chain of entertainment. This poses the question, do students take time out of their lives to reflect upon what they believe and why? I personally have put these issues at the top of my life priority list, and maybe I am inferring that everyone else should adopt my priorities. I understand the fallacy here of imposing my views upon others, but the development of character relies upon self reflection.
I do not advocate my personal approach to dealing with the tech world because it makes it very difficult to communicate with students who learn and live through technologies. These articles do present some hope for educators like myself, “I can change.” Neurological research through the study of rats shows that brains are malleable throughout life and change based upon experiences. Our thinking patterns can change depending upon our experiences and the activities we take the time to concentrate on. I have already started walking down the road of technological understanding. For example: I showed my spouse the website I created and she was stunned. She said, “You really are growing up!” I will take the patronizing in stride mainly because I deserve it. I have avoided my digital native heritage for long enough, so it is time to step out of my hole and embrace technology for the sake of holding the attention of students who increasingly obtain information through tech media.
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