week 11

iPods are found everywhere these days. They are even popping up in schools and universities everywhere for educational purposes. Foreign language and music lessons are being taught more and more with this device. It's portability and digital content storage make it a great educational tool. Duke University incorporated iPod use for brief descriptions of selected courses. the recording capabilities generated a high level of student and teacher interest and was the most used feature for academic purposes. the academic uses of an iPod at Duke fell into five major categories which include course content dissemination tool, classroom recording tool, field recording tool, study support tool, and file storage and transfer.
The benefits of the iPod are numerous. So many students complain about the number of items they need to bring to class. The iPod reduces the amount of physical materials needed. It also reduces the dependence on lab or library locations and hours. It also enhances the support for individual learning preferences and needs. Even though the iPod has many advantages there are still some barriers. Two of these barriers are that some recordings aren't sufficient quality for use in some academic contexts and many teachers and students lack the knowledge of iPod functionality.

http://cit.duke.edu/pdf/reports/ipod_initiative_04_05.pdf

Week 10

Dr. Alice Christie is retired but has given much to the education family. Part of her website is devoted to research online. Today researching online is almost mandatory. I know that I am on the computer constantly. This is a difficult task considering I don't have Internet access at my home. However, when it comes to research with a computer, it can be tough. there are so many sites that appear to be educational, but aren't. many children will choose to use google and simply use the first item that pops up. This site may or may not give correct information.
Dr. Christie's site gives an end to this problem because she list many educational sites,(such as Encarta, Awesome Library Encyclopedia etc..) which students can rely on. This is important to me as an educator because now I have a list of acceptable references that my future students can rely on.

Week 9

I am 22 years old, and I have been in school since I was 4 without any breaks. So, I have written many papers. Most of those papers were research papers. Reliable sources were a requirement in order to receive a good grade. My teachers were always sure to let us know that Wikipedia was not allowed to be one of our sources. I never knew why. I simply did as I was told, and stayed away from it. Now I know why. I was shocked to find out that anyone can edit the material that is found on this website. Much of it has been proven edited as well. Big companies have had a hand in this. If there is a posted article that reflects them negatively then they simply go in and change it. More than that, companies have completely deleted it all together. Or, perhaps a company has gone in and changed something about their opponent to make them look bad. Every time someone edits this website, they leave a digital fingerprint that can lead right back to the computer where the change was made. However, it is simple to simply walk to any Internet cafe, and make the change there.

If any information on Wikipedia can be changed, then I feel that none of its information can be trusted. Now I know why none of my teachers wanted this site used. Sure, there is most likely information that hasn't been tampered with, but would you want your students to come across the one article that is going to give them biased and incorrect information? Absolutely not.

Week 8

I chose to look at the best blog from May titled “Customer Service”. First, I am a server and I am really good at my job. I strive to do my best not only because I make more money, but also because I truly care about my customer’s needs. I agree with the writer when he said that people have become accustomed to “okay” or “bad” service. Not to brag or anything, but maybe that is why I get so many complements from my customers.
I have never thought of students as customers before. Now, it makes a lot of sense. They are there and you have a job, as a teacher, to give them what they need. I’m not saying the customer is always right. There are some who are impossible to please. So what are you supposed to do? Give-up? If you said give up then you’re in the wrong profession and need a new job. You’re not supposed to give up. You do whatever you can to help your customer get to the place they want. This, in my opinion, is how every teacher should feel about their students.

Week 7

I will have to admit that my computer course can be a pain. If I don’t understand something right away I get frustrated just like I always have with math. Luckily, I am going to be a history teacher, and I am done with math forever (I hope). However, technology is something I will never get away from. The Fischbowl man is correct when he says that being technologically illiterate is the same as not being able to read and write.
When it comes down to it there are certain things you must know how to do in order to teach. What if you began teaching a class without ever learning about organization? Your classroom would most likely be a mess. Technology can help with organization, and is also an amazing teaching tool. Power points and smart boards are being used more and more everyday. ACCESS is growing in popularity in our country as well. It requires technology to use if and therefore teachers must have the knowledge to make this tool effective.