Hi class,
As you are starting your education career or well into the depths of being an educator I know and hope that you are excited about being an educator. I know after being an educator for well into my forth decade - I am still excited about being an educator. Throughout the quarter I will share many of my passions with you as well as some of the current frustrations that some teachers experience.
One thing about being an educator today that excites me is technology - which has come along way from the days when I started teaching and using the dito machine - and 16mm films. There were no overhead projectors - let alone LCDs etc. I remember back to those as the new young teacher who became the advisor to the AV club and was in charge of the AV department - go figure that I was already interested in what would become a staple in many schools.
We have come along way - with types of technology and the use of it in the classroom. In this class we will be using and creating projects using media and technology. As a middle level educator you will be expected to know and to use media - technology experiences with your students. Some of your students may know a lot about using different media forms - possibly more than you know - so you need to know some of the basics.
Please check out the following website and ponder a bit about it and share your thoughts in your blog response to me.
Larry Lessig - how creativity is being strangled - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs&feature=player_embedded#t=831
Teachers today need to build on the power of the traditions on education in the past - but we cannot teach purely "the old fashion way" - that was yesterday - today is here and tomorrow is where our students will live and work and we have to be visionary enough to prepare them not only for the present but also the future. These youtube videos address these issues.
one clip at a time - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1ZByPflgJ0&feature=player_embedded#t=445
An anthropological introduction to youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU&feature=player_embedded#t=22
The machine is using us - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&feature=channel
Ever since I started teaching in the 1960s an interest and passion I have had is student voice. This is a powerful video a HS teacher created last year - it demonstrates how powerful student voice can be.
Is Anybody listening? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU&feature=player_embedded
The power of media - technology - is awesome - we can all make a difference large and small.
Twitter and the world malaria day - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZADez_MIr5I&feature=player_embedded
Carrot mob makes it rain - http://vimeo.com/925729
So in your blog response to this blog I have two requests:
1. As you watch these videos - write in your blog what your thoughts - and possible applications to your classroom. Make sure you make direct references to the videos you are referring to. I do not expect you to respond to each of the videos - chose what is of interest to you.
2. Share what excites you about being an educator. What motivates you to go into a classroom everyday and face with your students with smiles - laughter - hope - vision and expectations ( expectations for you and for your students).
I look forward to reading your blogs.
