Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Today we discussed the topic of "Cool Hunting." Here are my thoughts:
Cool hunting is the marketing strategy of big corporations finding the 20% of teenagers who are the trend setter kids that have earned the trust and respect of their peers. The basic idea is that every year there is 150 billion dollars spent by teens or by parents on teens. Teens see up to 3,000 ads a day. Cool hunting is searching for those teens that are leading the pack in the new styles of the day. I think cool hunting is an interesting concept. The problem with things that are cool is that as soon as they are at the height of cool they become uncool. If everybody is doing it then there is nothing cool about it. I think cool hunting is a way of exploiting young teens. It is true that kids look up to each other in terms of behavior and style. However, I think that what is cool does not always come from the teen generations. There are a lot of styles and fashions that became popular when I was a teenager that are still cool today. This is an interesting topic that has serious implications on what drives our society.
Technology Anthropologist
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgp88r46_0g5h6g8
That's the website of my cool AnthTech report... check-it-out
2-3 paragraph response: What is the overall attitude toward using technology at JDHS? What do I see as the school's opportunities, limitations, and potential in this area? What ideas do I have about how to address them.
I think that JDHS has a vast amount of technology available to the teachers and students. In the school district where I worked in the past we were not nearly so fortunate. I would say that JDHS is a technologically competent school. Teachers have access to computer labs, the library is integrated with our city public library, there is wireless internet all over the school, and many teachers teach classes that utilize technology.
The biggest problem facing our technology culture is a lack of funding. Technology should be a highly prioritized part of our school district, and yet we do not have a district technology coordinator. The school system here is aware that technology is a priority, but they are not providing the funding. Teachers are expected to teach their classes as well as to put things into place like an ed. tech plan. If the district has these expectations of teachers, then they need to provide additional funding in order to meet those expectations. The teachers who are tech savvy are focusing their energy on their own classrooms and the technology classes that they teach. If teachers are expected to do more than this, then they must be paid for the additional time they put in.
The biggest problem that I see in regard to utilizing technology in our education system, is that in a school of 1,500 students and approximately 80 teachers, I have found 7 teachers that are playing an active role in technology in their school. This means that 73 or more teachers are not playing that role. Many of these teachers implement technology on a few computers in their classrooms, however, even more do not have the training and skills necessary to fill the role of being a technology oriented teacher. If we are to expect this skill in our educators, then we need to provide the training to them. This school system is not limited by a lack of technology. We have the materials, but we do not have enough skilled individuals who can teach it, let alone use it!
That's the website of my cool AnthTech report... check-it-out
2-3 paragraph response: What is the overall attitude toward using technology at JDHS? What do I see as the school's opportunities, limitations, and potential in this area? What ideas do I have about how to address them.
I think that JDHS has a vast amount of technology available to the teachers and students. In the school district where I worked in the past we were not nearly so fortunate. I would say that JDHS is a technologically competent school. Teachers have access to computer labs, the library is integrated with our city public library, there is wireless internet all over the school, and many teachers teach classes that utilize technology.
The biggest problem facing our technology culture is a lack of funding. Technology should be a highly prioritized part of our school district, and yet we do not have a district technology coordinator. The school system here is aware that technology is a priority, but they are not providing the funding. Teachers are expected to teach their classes as well as to put things into place like an ed. tech plan. If the district has these expectations of teachers, then they need to provide additional funding in order to meet those expectations. The teachers who are tech savvy are focusing their energy on their own classrooms and the technology classes that they teach. If teachers are expected to do more than this, then they must be paid for the additional time they put in.
The biggest problem that I see in regard to utilizing technology in our education system, is that in a school of 1,500 students and approximately 80 teachers, I have found 7 teachers that are playing an active role in technology in their school. This means that 73 or more teachers are not playing that role. Many of these teachers implement technology on a few computers in their classrooms, however, even more do not have the training and skills necessary to fill the role of being a technology oriented teacher. If we are to expect this skill in our educators, then we need to provide the training to them. This school system is not limited by a lack of technology. We have the materials, but we do not have enough skilled individuals who can teach it, let alone use it!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Article Response 1
Your name: Gabe Asper Email: gabeasper@hotmail.com Date: 9/18/07
Article Title: Listen to the Natives Author: Marc Prensky
This article is about challenges to teaching in the digital age. The article illustrates the point that today’s students are integrated into a technology system from an early age. They have many technological skills. They are quick to learn new technologies. They use technology outside of the classroom on a daily basis. The article is making the point that teachers need to begin using the technological talents of their pupils in the classroom. Teachers need to start bringing different forms of technology into their daily lessons. They need to be experimenting with ways of incorporating technology into their curriculum.
1. Educators have entered the digital age doing things the same way they used to.
2. Students are “digital natives” adults are “digital immigrants”.
3. Teachers must practice putting engagement before content when teaching.
4. Today’s students lack engagement and motivation.
5. Programming is the key skill necessary for 21st century literacy.
I have been aware of the conflict that this article brings up for a long time. As a language arts teacher I always feel that the schools I’ve worked at have not provided me with the tools for success. The students view English as their most painful subject, especially when they come from an ELL background. I have always said “If only I had a computer for each student!" If there was a classroom set of computers for each teacher in every school, then teaching could truly move in a new direction. As a language arts teacher I would love to do word processing and typing skills with my students on every writing assignment.
Article Title: Listen to the Natives Author: Marc Prensky
This article is about challenges to teaching in the digital age. The article illustrates the point that today’s students are integrated into a technology system from an early age. They have many technological skills. They are quick to learn new technologies. They use technology outside of the classroom on a daily basis. The article is making the point that teachers need to begin using the technological talents of their pupils in the classroom. Teachers need to start bringing different forms of technology into their daily lessons. They need to be experimenting with ways of incorporating technology into their curriculum.
1. Educators have entered the digital age doing things the same way they used to.
2. Students are “digital natives” adults are “digital immigrants”.
3. Teachers must practice putting engagement before content when teaching.
4. Today’s students lack engagement and motivation.
5. Programming is the key skill necessary for 21st century literacy.
I have been aware of the conflict that this article brings up for a long time. As a language arts teacher I always feel that the schools I’ve worked at have not provided me with the tools for success. The students view English as their most painful subject, especially when they come from an ELL background. I have always said “If only I had a computer for each student!" If there was a classroom set of computers for each teacher in every school, then teaching could truly move in a new direction. As a language arts teacher I would love to do word processing and typing skills with my students on every writing assignment.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Today we watched some video media projects and were asked to write about the topic of "futuring"
RESPONSE TO FOX BECOMES A BETTER PERSON
The value of using technology projects in class is that we live in a technology age. The students have access to and implement multiple forms of technology every day. This means that technology is an educational tool that immediately achieves student interest. Interesting students in what you teach is about the hardest thing to do as a teacher. If you incorporate technology into your lessons then you are meeting the students where they are at. The other advantage of projects like this is that they teach students about the technological tools at their disposal. Many parents are not up to date on modern technology, so this knowledge needs to be taught in schools or the less advantaged students are automatically left behind. The old method of sitting in rows, listening to a lecture, and taking notes off a chalkboard just doesn't cut it anymore. Teachers need to make the learning that goes on in their classrooms reflect the times that we are living in. I feel that this project was easily assessable because it had a structure. The students had to write a story, make illustrations, and film/present. These are all areas that you could easily assign grades based on effort and creativity. I guess I would make a rubric based on best practice work samples.
RESPONSE TO SCHOOL TRAIN
This was an interesting video. I think it would be a fun project for kids to do, but I am not sure what the goal of the project was besides just using technology in the classroom. This project would be hard to grade. I guess you would have to grade on whether the kid did it or not, and as in the last assignment, high grades would reflect a high amount of effort and creativity. It seemed like a really elaborate and drawn out process to teach a simple concept like metaphor. However, the students would never forget their example of a metaphor!
RESPONSE TO EVOLUTION OF TECH
I really thought this video was cool. It made me realize how little I know about some of the tech innovations that are being used today. I was amazed at the rapidness of this technological evolvement. Even though they were making the future up, it was very realistic to what might happen. I do not fully understand the concept of podcasting, but it has been clear to me for a long time that we are moving into an age of networking. I think this is so cool. In education it is going to change things a lot. Instead of the old fashioned way of doing things, kids are going to have so many tools for accessing knowledge. The teacher will have to fill a diminished role of managing learning instead of imparting learning. All the tools for learning will be right there at their disposal. They will just need to teach kids how to access it and utilize it. The teacher will be a "guide at their side" instead of a "sage on the stage". I think these developments are already a long time in coming in education. There are too many teachers who are ignoring progress in technology. It merely serves to isolate them from their students. Teachers who use technology are facing the real world we live in.
I really thought this video was cool. It made me realize how little I know about some of the tech innovations that are being used today. I was amazed at the rapidness of this technological evolvement. Even though they were making the future up, it was very realistic to what might happen. I do not fully understand the concept of podcasting, but it has been clear to me for a long time that we are moving into an age of networking. I think this is so cool. In education it is going to change things a lot. Instead of the old fashioned way of doing things, kids are going to have so many tools for accessing knowledge. The teacher will have to fill a diminished role of managing learning instead of imparting learning. All the tools for learning will be right there at their disposal. They will just need to teach kids how to access it and utilize it. The teacher will be a "guide at their side" instead of a "sage on the stage". I think these developments are already a long time in coming in education. There are too many teachers who are ignoring progress in technology. It merely serves to isolate them from their students. Teachers who use technology are facing the real world we live in.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
1st Blog
My name is Gabe. I was born in AK. I am a teacher. I like kids, the sun, swimming in AK, hot tubs, kayaking, baseball, my family... and other stuff. I'm single and I like it that way sometimes. My goal right now is to get my Masters degree. I am thinking about traveling after that.
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