Well done PBS

Watching the last part of the movie in class was interesting. Having the chance to listen to everyone else's opinions and ideas about the content made for some great discussion. In general I don't think enough classrooms have open share discussions like the ones we have on a regular enough basis. I think if classes were to have more open discussions based on the topics that are currently begin taught it would create a classroom with more interest and even potentially more respect.It may even help break down some of the walls people put up around themselves and others, with less walls students may start to see the similarities in one another instead of the differences. With that the hope would be that everyone would be more informed and bullying would happen less because there is an understood level of respect for one another. Additionally the teachers in classrooms that have more open discussion will have a better idea of where their students are coming from what they are interested in maybe even where their academic interests lay. Being informed beyond the student's names and where they sit it the classroom are an important part of an educators job, a part that we as teachers have less time to focus because of outside constraints. Though this last bit may have seamed dramatically off topic it is where my mind wandered to after the conclusion of the PBS special we watched.

Gotta love PBS

This investigation took a rather unexpected turn at the end with the suicides and eating disorders. But the points that were stressed there helped knock home some of the key ideas that were introduced early on. At the start I was not surprised with what the educators had to say about technology, and how it needs to be used regularly and that students are more educated about technology than the teachers. When you really sit down and look around you'll see that we are throughly in the throngs of a paradigm shift; we've moved past consumers of physical products to consumers of services and internet based goods. Teens are literally putting themselves on display online, something that I have never done to the extent that my peers have. I would call myself a little more classic and modest in some respects and am continually surprised about what people are willing putting on the internet for all to see. The refreshing thing is that though young teens though sharing some more elicit things are very ware of the dangers and how to avoid them. However with the internet they are even more accessible than before they can be tormented from afar with great ease. As a future educator there will be a continued need for teachers to be aware and teach students how to manage cyber bullying.

more and more garage band

Well planning with garage band again and more fully exploring all the features of the program, from personalizing ringtones, adjusting some of the classics or learning to play the piano or guitar. Looking at all these learn to options reminds me of one of my placements in undergrad where I was able to utilize Rosetta Stone to introduce Spanish to a kindergarten class. Initially I thought it was a tad early to be teaching a new language, but truth be told it is actually the perfect time to learn a new language because students' brains are already use to and wired to absorb and learn new language. The same goes for instruments and computers, the world of computers is very much a unique language with lots of conjugations and special rules for the use of certain words in specific situations. In today's world young children are being exposed to more an more diverse technologies, from their phones to their toys and their computers. Children are entering school with a very larger computer vocabulary and are far more computer literate than we were at the same age. So whenever possible I think it is crucial that we as teachers use new and varied resources to keep our students interested motivated and excited about the content they are learning.

I'm listening

The remainder of the presentations were just as good as the other half, but I must say that garage band stole the show. I swear if I had that program on my computer that I would be playing with it all the time. I am such a techno geek that I would just sit and explore every possible option until I understood the whole thing. However I barely have time to sit and read a book so thats not going to happen anytime soon. In reality I can see this happening over and over again as new fun programs and gadgets come out; and the truth of the matter is that my future students will most likely know these programs better. When I hit that point I am going to have to take it in stride and let my students teach me about something that I don't know. Much like I am sure I have taught many of my teachers little things about technology. The next generation, in fact the ones are due to start school shortly, they will be more technologically rich from having growing up in an environment where technology is everywhere from phones to microwaves. I just want to say that I remember phones that didn't need electricity to run, ones that didn't have push buttons or light-up screens. While on today's side of things there are some kids might not even have a home phone. I grew at the birth of the internet, students know are fully computer literate and savy beyond what I was at their age.

Wow, wow, I digress. The truth of the matter is Garage band=awesome tons of fun, and I can see numerous options and uses for it in a classroom. End of story, done.

I never knew 15min was so long...

Though we were unable to finish all of the presentations because in the world of new media 15 minutes can last a rather long time, I really enjoyed all the dialoguing we were bale to do after the presntation had finished. I think it really gave us all a chance to get to knwo one abother better and more fully understand the place we have all come from. The topics everyone chose truly spoke to each of as individuals and think that is an important fact that many educators soon forget when they allow students to choose a topic at will. I really like the fact that you could tell everyone was really passionate about the topic they were presenting on because we all were able to talk at lengths about the intricacies and the possible classroom application to no end.

I was really amazed at hoe much I had forgotten when it came to calculators and was wowed at all the different options there were when it came to smart boards. Along with the fall backs of bot, over reliance of technology can hinder us in the short run of things. However integrating technology into our classrooms while still utilizing traditional methods allows to use technology but not fall victim to it when for some reason it is not cooperating.

Music notes...

Well well well, to say that this class was informative would be a great understatement. I'd like to think of myself as fairly computer savvy and considering that I've had my own computer since I was five helps me think that I may be right. But all the different compression rates of music just sent me for a ride. That was just an area that I was not oblivious to but wildly inept at. Now that I have been exposed to it all it is painfully easy for me to understand. In essence it is much like live action photography or digital compression of videos. Where you may not get every single millisecond of detail but as the viewer you wouldn't be the wiser. In many cases if there are two frames are identical they may condense that section into one image, or if there are multiple frames but the majority of the frame remains unchanged then those bits of information instead of being repeated over and over again will just be re-used.

The same concept applies to music that is begin compressed and to my amazement you can barely hear a difference for a large amount of the different compression rates. Knowing all this information has allowed me think about how I will utilize this information in a classroom. For many instances there is no need to have super high bit rate of sound especially if it is a class project that is being listened to on line or something else along those lines.

Rip and burn part two

The second half of this rather lengthy lecture was far more interesting to me than the previous half. I think the reasoning for this was because the material in the second half was more relevant to me and my life. Not to say that the great beta-max controversy didn't have an affect on my life or the shape of the future i currently find myself in; because it did and still does have an affect on how easily I can receive and transmit information and media. For example had things not turned out the way they did then there would be a very good chance that not only would i not have the opportunity to blog but i highly doubt i would enrolled in a new media in the classroom course.

The shift from CD's to a more internet centered media spectrum has literally re-written the way the music is distributed and listened to. I think the really exciting thing as that I was alive and actively part of this transition. I clearly remember the first days of napster and ipods when they were a rare occurrence. And now everybody and their 5 year old cousin has an ipod and the skills to buy music and put them on their media device, which most likely is some sort of ipod.

The truth of the matter that media is becoming more and more a part of our culture and classroom; and maybe instead of just blindly using technology we can enlighten our students to be more aware and consciousness of where all this technology came from and how it is now available to us. I feel that more and more today students don't know the background of what they doing/learning and so-on. People along with students have no idea what has happened or transpired in order for things to occur presently