Rhymes of History

The cellular phone has been around since the 60s and 70s. When they first came out only business people, military, and those with money were able to afford to have one. I remember as a kid growing up in the 80s watching tv shows and the characters would have car phones. Cell phones became more mainstream as well as smaller in the late 90s it wasn't unsual to go to the mall and see people with a cell phone. Now a days you can't hardly pass someone on the street without them using a cell phone. The price and services provided has come down and now everyone can afford to have one.

The cell phone brings back the sense of staying connected. For decades people have kept in touch with each other using letters and phones. With mainstreaming of cell phones and web enabled phones this has become easier to do.

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa070899.htm

Module 2

The camera has been around for thousands of years from the pinhole camera to the digital camera. With the invention of the digital camera and adding features such as uploading, cropping, backgrounds, and even recording there’s nothing you cannot do with it. The digital camera enhances our day to day living by capturing moments that you don’t want to forget or want to share with others, being by pictures or video. You can also use these pictures to tell stories or history like the hieroglyphics in pyramids. We can already see the future of the camera; almost every cell phone has a camera. The newer the cell phone the better the camera. In the future I foresee, companies making an all in one camera and cell phone as well as a camera that you don’t hold but can take pictures by just looking at it.

http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01824/

Module 1 Walden 7108

Apple has come out with a bigger version of the Ipod called the Ipad this year, it has generated a lot of buzz on we are going to use computers in the future. The Ipad is a handheld device with full computing power and a touchscreen. I think in years to come this new technology will greatly impact k-12. This is a device that can be used by students as well as teachers, designers are making apps to link the Ipad, for example at a recent convention designer found a way to put 9 Ipads together to make a workable slot machine.
The challenges that I forsee is cost. As with any new technology when it first comes out the product is expensive and school districts may not want to invest in a product that is that new. I also see that since this product is one piece how are school districts going to handle replacing the unit if its broken. By being up on current technology the school system helps educate students for the future. If you don’t integrate technology in the classroom your doing your students a great disservice to them by not providing them the education that will help them in future endeavors.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Module 1 Blog 7108

Apple has come out with a bigger version of the Ipod called the Ipad this year, it has generated a lot of buzz on we are going to use computers in the future. The Ipad is a handheld device with full computing power and a touchscreen. I think in years to come this new technology will greatly impact k-12. This is a device that can be used by students as well as teachers, designers are making apps to link the Ipad, for example at a recent convention designer found a way to put 9 Ipads together to make a workable slot machine.

The challenges that I forsee is cost. As with any new technology when it first comes out the product is expensive and school districts may not want to invest in a product that is that new. I also see that since this product is one piece how are school districts going to handle replacing the unit if its broken. By being up on current technology the school system helps educate students for the future. If you don’t integrate technology in the classroom your doing your students a great disservice to them by not providing them the education that will help them in future endeavors.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Module 5: Technologies

As an educator I believe that you have to stay on top of what’s new. We are preparing our students to be leaders and we have to teach them the skills so that they can be better prepared. Technology is changing every day and we have to stay on top of it. I have noticed that most of the veteran teachers at my school are so used to teaching a certain way that the technology that my school does has is going to waste.
My school received a math grant that included mounting projectors, air writers for the SMART Board, and math cps units. The math coach said that even though the classrooms had SMART Boards for years that some of the teachers were still using overhead projector to teach their math lessons. The coach said that she paid extra attention to these teachers and made sure that she showed them how to use the SMART Board and CPS unit. The math coach stated that by the end of the year that the teachers had improved on using the technology and that she started dropping in two to three times a week to once a week (which she was doing with the other teachers). I think that Keller’s ARCS model of motivation worked with these teachers. The coach gave them the added attention they needed, showed the relevance of using the technology in the class to help with student understanding. Confidence was showed when the teachers were effectively using the technology without assistance.

Module 4

Social networks have gotten me in touch with people I haven't seen or heard from in years. A lot of my family members are on Facebook and when my grandparents were sick, it was a good way to keep them updated on how things went with surgeries and how they were doing. Using Facebook helped me avoid long drawn out conversations that I didn't feel like making at the end of the day. It also connected me to some family members I never really spoken to before. E-mailing has helped me keep in touch with co-workers as well as the board when I had a quesstion about pay, sick leave or PLU's. Basically these connections help make my life easier to get into connect with others.

I learn by reading, since getting into this program I've learned about blogs. I like learning about what others think and their views on topics that I've never heard of before. I also like to use google. When I'm not sure about something I google it. Even just watching tv if I hear something interesting I take out the blackberry and google the information.

Module 3 Collaboration

I do agree with Rheingold, I don’t think we were meant to be alone or to work alone. The first day of school the students are looking for acceptance from someone so that they could be friends. School aged children especially elementary and middle school students completely break down when they’re friends betray them. So I think it’s natural that people want to work collaboratively. Not only does working as a group takes some of the pressure off the individual you have someone that can help you out with ideas, help come up with solutions and also have your back when you need it.

Technology helps facilitate collaboration because it becomes easier to work as a group. Everybody doesn’t have to be in the same place and gather at the same time to get a project done. Through e-mail, Skype, and Google documents and other sources of media it helps getting things done a lot easier and faster.

http://docs.google.com/?pli=1#all
www.skype.com