Blogpost #6

The Networked Student

This video does not capture my first college experience. We did not have all this technology back in 1991-1997. We had internet but I don't ever remember using it for assignments. I only have to take three classes and out of the three this one and my Art class are involved with the internet. We still have to go to class in Art but we have to use USA online to look at upcoming assignments and post threaded discussions.

I will admit that I am a little scared of the fact that I may have to be a teacher of a networked student, but I am not afraid to take on the challenge. I really like this blog class, and I was fortunate enough to come across a student that was in the "class of complainers" last year. I did tell her that some of these Youtube videos we watch are pointless and it is aggravating having to come up with things to say about them. BUT, I also like all the tools we are learning about. I think the tools will be useful in the classroom. This particular Youtube video was interesting but I do not think I needed to watch another video to understand that technology is rapidly advancing.

I do think the networked student will still need a teacher. The video mentioned all the important reasons: guidance, modeling, make sure they are finding good information and not propaganda, and organization.
Students cannot just be given an assignment and be told figure it out on your own. The teacher needs to be there to help with problems that may arise from the assignments. I like this idea and would love to see how Wendy Drexler's activities turn out. I will add her to my PLN so I can keep up with her blog.

Welcome to My PLE!

I was really impressed with this girl's PLE. I am also using symbaloo. I watched this video when I started my PLN. I really like the way she is learning. She has an idea and she creates a video or a Google presentation to present it. She seems very excited about learning. I like how she said she comes into school checks the Science agenda for classwork, and then she decides what to do next. The teacher has fun games for the class to play but they are not really games. They actually learned how to create a scientific report by playing a game. She uses a social bookmarking account to keep track of her research. She mentions a Glogster, have no idea what that is. She said it helps her to put text, audio, video, and graphics all on one page. I know that is one of our next assignments and after looking at what she created on Glogster, I am excited about learning how to create a Glog too.

The Machine is Changing Us

When I saw how long this video was....aaaggghhhh! It turned out to be entertaining. I was a part of the MTV generation. I used to watch MTV all day. I have mentioned this before in another blog, that I would tape my favorite videos. The Youtube generation no longer has to spend hours waiting for their favorite video to come on. All they have to do is search, click and play.
I liked his explanation of our use of "Whatever!" We have all used that word at one time or another. It is funny that he defines the different meanings from generation to generation. I fell in love with the movie "Clueless" in 1995. Amber uses the famous "W" fingers and says What-Ever!

I liked his discussion on Youtube. He discussed that old and young generations are uploading to Youtube. I think Youtube gives people a way to express themselves and gives them a way to be heard. He said Youtube has about 1 million videos uploaded per day, and that 99.9% videos are irrelevant to us. I like Youtube because there is just so much information on it. I really liked the Charlie Video he shared with us. It was funny. Youtube is a combination of things. Videos on just about anything you can think of. Some are funny and some are boring.