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.
12 comments:
Hello Dr. Mee,
I want to check in!
test
Awesome. I am here.
Prof Mee,
My blog is up and running. Here is my first reply!
Kristin Imberger was here!
just checkin' in
checkin in!
Hi Dr. Mee,
I'm just checking in. Hope this worked!
-Rachel
HM was here. Interesting perspective in the Lessig video - to start working the problem from the sources instead of through the legal system.
Larry Lessig brought up the point that we are living in a sort of prohibition, where nearly everyone is living life against the law. He mentions that people are using cites like You Tube to access copyrighted media daily. I completely agree that it is a type of prohibition; piracy has become so mainstream through the use of the Internet. All of my friends and family engage in copyright infringement on a daily basis. I agree that artists need to embrace making their work “more free.” Creating competition between more free and less free content can create opportunity for growth and advancement. One example of this in practice is the iPhone’s application store. It offers both paid and free apps. App creators who wish to charge for their apps usually release a free version, or a “lite” version as they call it. This allows potential costumers to test ride the application. I hope more people embrace Lessig’s ideals.
Dr. Mee,
I have a response to your blog on my page.
Thanks!
Jenni
I think technology in the classroom is essential, engaging, interesting, and fun! It is this generation's mode of communication. During my student teaching, I was so lucky because the class had a Promethean Board! It was new for my cooperating teacher, so I took the initiative to learn how to use it, by creating interactive flip charts every day for various subjects. It was a flexible tool, because I could teach across the curriculum very easily.
In regards to You Tube....it was so helpful for bringing concepts to life instantly and spontaneously for my students. For example, we were studying simple machines in science, but we didn't have any good real life examples in the classroom. I pulled several up on You Tube, and it engaged the students to an exponentially higher level.
Larry Lessig's analogy of the law regarding real estate rights not making sense after the invention of airplanes really made sense. It is wonderful to see the kids creating art and expressing themselves through video and remixing, but concerning that they are aware they are breaking the law. My son posted his first You Tube video this week; a snow boarding video of him and his friends to music. It is fabulous! The laws do need to change in regard to remixing.
I never thought about You Tube as a community for people to connect with others, making change, or humanity. I always assumed it was for people to just broadcast messages, make art, or demonstrate something. Watching one clip at a time changed my mind, and opened it.
In an anthropological introduction to YouTube, my eyes and mind opened further to the world and culture of YouTube. I watched the entire video, and originally, when I saw it was 50 minutes, I thought to myself, I'll watch a portion of it, but I could not take my eyes off the screen and the message it sent.
I was so impressed by the power of the Vlog/Twitter in the world malaria day and carrot mob makes it rain videos! I will have my students use more video production in class projects, and as a form of assessment. I want to Vlog!
I get excited when I experience my students eyes light up when they learn something new, when they apply something they learned in one subject to another, and when they work together as a community. I get excited when I learn something new from them, too....when their questions spark more opportunities for more exploration and more connections. I love the energy of being with young people, the humor we share, the relationships that form. Creating motivates me....creating a positive learning environment, project based lessons, artistic expression, movement in the classroom.....all are a part of what motivates me each and every morning.
Post a Comment