Wikipedia

So much talk over the free web based encyclopedia, Wikipedia...Can you trust it? Should you use it? Why do my professors hate it? The thing you have to remember with Wiki is that it IS open to the public for additions and changes, so yes..there are going to be times that it is changed and the truth is stretched slightly or completely tossed out the window and replaced with what sounds good. Even though Wiki has over 1,500 administrators trying their best to monitor the changes made to the site, that number may not be enough to monitor over 75,000 editors. So yes, people can change the information with inaccurate details and before now, may have never gotten away with it. But, as we have talked about, our technology is only getting better and before long, there will be nothing that you can do on-line and not have traced back to you.

When reading the three assignments, NPR Article, Scanner Tracks Who's Changing What on Wikipedia, and The NPR News Blog, and Wired Story, See Who's Editing Wikipedia - Diebold, the CIA, a Campaign, I had no idea that there was a way to trace the activity of the changes being made on Wikipedia. Apparently, Wal-Mart (to name just one) decided that they did not like the information published on the web-encyclopedia so they decided to fix it. They totally changed the publishing's about the wage plan for their company. Prior Montana Senator Conrad Burns' office was guilty of changing information as well to fix an article published to make him sound good.

To me this is almost crazy because even after doing all of the research I have done on Wikipedia, I would have never thought that the main people of Wal-Mart and the Senators of our country would honestly be logging on to Wiki to change their articles. To me, that was almost like Brittany Spears wanting to google herself all day to see what was being said about her. I never realized how much Wiki was really used by people for serious matters. I think that the fact that there are people out there who really do use Wikipedia as a "fact-based-source", and may really put faith in the articles published is what led to the development of the Wiki Scanner. With this tool, you can trace IP addresses back to the responsible party/parties who are making these changes.

You have to remember that our teachers are forbidding the use of Wiki as a source for a reason...and this would be it. My advice to everyone is to use Wiki the way that I have and still do. Wikipedia should be used as a "starter-site." When you pull up your subject of interest in Wiki, you will find tons of articles with tons of hyperlinks stored in them. Click on those hyperlinks and chances are that before long you will start landing on pages that have url's ending in .edu and that have authors who give references and contact information. That, in my opinion, is where Wiki makes life so much easier. Instead of searching forever just to get started, you can just log into Wiki and find great leads!

Randy Pausch

One of my blogs I did for last week on the podcast was actually on Randy Pausch, so I knew that he had recently passed away due to his loosing the battle to Pancreatic Cancer. This made me actually excited to see that this week's assignment was on his last lecture, Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. Upon coming out to give his lecture, he made his situation with cancer very open. He spoke about his cancer and told everyone up front that he only had about 2-5 months of good health left, and after doing his series of push ups, he made it very plain that he did not want sympathy from anyone for any reason! He made jokes about buying his new death bed, etc. It was so obvious that this was NOT going to be a boring video! Everybody should watch this! Not only informative, but VERY FUNNY!!!!!

Pausch spoke of several of his childhood dreams which included being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, authoring an article in the World Book encyclopedia, being Captain Kirk, winning stuffed animals, and being a Disney Imagineer. He wanted to be in zero gravity so badly that when he heard of the competition NASA had for college students to try and win a zero gravity flight, he did everything he had to do, including posing as a journalist, to be able to take that ride! He also took footage from the flight and had a virtual reality set made for children to be able to "experience" zero gravity as well. He talks about his NFL dream, which he did not achieve, and states how he got more from not achieving that goal than he could have if he would have been in NFL! He talks about one of the lessons he learned from his coach was that if you can make mistakes and they go un-noticed, it is because no one is paying attention, or they stopped caring. He did achieve the dream of writing the encyclopedia article though. He wrote it on virtual reality! Then he addressed his Captain Kirk dream! On his power point, he showed how he changed this dream slightly.....MEETING Captain Kirk was his slightly altered dream! He did end up meeting his childhood role model when he came down to study Pausch's virtual reality center. As for the dream of being the stuffed animal winner, the pictures he had are sooooo funny! The animals he has won! No wonder he just bought a new, big house! Some of his "prize bears" were actually brought out to be on stage and he told everyone he would be giving them away at the end of his lecture because THEY COULDN'T FIT IN THE MOVING TRUCK!

His Disney Imagineer dream took a hard hit at first. But Pausch being Pausch found away around this, too. When Pausch was asked to brief the Secretary of Defense on the topic of virtual reality, he was able to have a legit reason to get his foot in the door with Disney. He was able to go to Disney to work for 6 months to work on the Aladdin Project!


After achieving his dreams, his new one was to help enable the achievement of dreams of others! As a professor, he began to try and teach the students how to become, "turned on to their childhood dreams!" He talks about how in his first class, the students turned in assignments that were blowing his mind and he had no idea what to do! He called his mentor and was told to go back into the classroom and say, "guys..this was great, but I know you can do better!" Because of this advice, the students only kept excelling. They just got better and better and better. This intrigued not just students, but parents, friends, other staff, etc. This put Pausch on cloud 9. (The hello.World virtual reality video example he shows is AWESOME!!!) The show that the students put on every year were PACKED!

One of the things he pointed out for the master's program, was that he did not have the patience for the book portion of the learning enviroment. I loved this! His class had 5 projects they had to get involved and do and they even took field trips. This, to me, makes perfect sense. If the student's can do the projects, they are either up to date with their book knowledge, or they are capable of finding the needed information. His university had people offering to hire his students even before they had been admitted...this is how accredited his program was. I also liked the idea of grading how you interact with your peers. If you can't learn how to co-exist with your classmates, how can you go into the real world and be around people with interest that may have nothing in common with yours.

He talks about his program Alice which is his "legacy." This is all about learning while having fun and having no clue that you are actually learning something hard. It's called the "Head Fake." How great is this. I know I want to incorporate this into my classroom if possible.

Towards the end of the video, he talks about his mother let him paint his bedroom like a submarine, and wow, you HAVE to see the pictures! I think his point on this one is to let kids express themselves! He also talks about how he was told others were perceiving him as arrogant and that could be holding his progress back. He tried to learn from everything, not pout! He says on the "Tigger/Eeyore" scale it is really obvious that he is a Tigger. He jokes about how there is a difference between what you do, and what your profession is. He wanted to stress about a "feed back loop," and how you need to listen to the criticism others have to offer. He also talks about Karma and how you need to be honest, earnest, etc... Maybe in fear of Karma, ha ha, he had a birthday cake brought out for his wife at the end of his lecture and had all 500 audience members sing happy birthday to her!

He wraps up his lecture with telling everyone if you lead your life the right way, Karma will take care of you and good things will happen. Then, he tells everyone this lecture was for his 3 children!

Pausch is such an inspiration and I hope that as a teacher I can display many of his qualities. Especially his belief that you should let the students be hands on! I am all about this! I have always believed that hands on is the best way to learn. I also agree with his belief about brick walls...they are there to weed out the slackers from the hard workers! His passing was a great loss in the world; I wish I could have been able to meet him or even take just one class under him before I take my leap into the world of teaching!

Fischbowl/Best of 2007: April

For my Fischbowl assignment I decided to do the month of April and I think I may have chosen one with an AWESOME message. It is discussing the school year and the time we have allotted to teach and learn. In one of the meetings, the Fischbowl
Did You Know/Shift Happens Movie was shown by Barry Bachenheimer only to receive the exact response I feel the movie was looking for. A reaction of agreeing that we need to get with it and make sure our students are ready to meet the world of technology upon their graduation. Though they all agreed to this, no one could understand exactly where they were suppose to find the time to teach their students all about the world of blogging, etc. With the questions of "How," and "When," up in the air, a new Power Point Presentation was put into use.

The 180 Days presentation is now being circulated and I think that it should be a REQUIREMENT for ALL teachers and administrators to watch before approaching the classroom. It gives a breakdown of how we are using our time in school in a way that could really leave the question of, "What spare days should I fit learning technology in?" instead of "We have no time left!" This video shows how we are losing time and blaming it on the kids not being focused. It shows how there are so many days that could be being used wisely, but instead are being cut into half days before vacations because we say the children aren't interested and they are "distracted." In my opinion, we should pull ourselves away from making the excuses and start making a point to use our classroom time wisely.

Some of the comments made to Karl Fisch's April post are bringing up some other very good points as well. The last one made by a lady named Renee says, "Many children are in school from the time they are born, (daycare), up until their mid-twenties. What we, as teachers, need to do is find a way to make learning more enjoyable." In my opinion, it is NOT hard to make computers, etc., enjoyable to students. Whether they are in second grade or a senior in high school. Karl Fisch is NOT trying to say that test are not good and he is NOT trying to say that we do not need to allot time for test preparations. The point he IS trying to get across is to just stop and look at some of the time that is being wasted. Other points that were surfaced by one of the commenter's on his blog was that you can only do so much with the tools that you are provided in school. These are not the situations that his is trying to "harp" on.

One of the points brought up in this April post is that there are many teachers who just pop a movie in for the kids to watch so that they can have their few minutes of quiet time. In my opinion, please keep in mind I am speaking from a "pre-teacher" point of view, this is not okay. I feel that you could get just as much quiet time out of explaining to the kids how to blog, and then giving them the freedom to do so. Set aside that 45 minutes you would be using to show them a movie, and let them have 45 minutes to blog about their school experiences, make post asking for help on a Science project, or even make post to offer help to other classmates in a subject they may be really good in. Teaching is not all about quiet time, it should be about teaching!

South's Class Podcast

The first podcast I listened to was about the last lecture of Randy Pausch who was a college professor who lost the battle to pancreatic cancer and passed away at the age of only 47 years old. You can see an interview with him and read more on ABC's website. In this podcast, the students were talking about the contents of his last lecture. They talked about how he discussed child hood dreams such as working for Disney, which he did get the offer to do but turned down, playing in the NFL, etc. They talked about how they could incorporate ideas from his lecture into ideas for their classroom. These were ideas such as teaching kids that obstacles are meant to be overcome, not to stop us. The students had a lot of very interesting comments to make on Mr. Pausch and his last lecture.

The one thing that I did not like was that you could tell everyone was just reading something that they had written prior to the podcast. I think that if I would have listened to this before listening to the other 6 for the last assignment, it wouldn't have sounded so awkward. But the others that we listened to sounded more like the participants had learned everything they needed to before the podcast and were so knowledgeable about whatever it was they were discussing, that they just went in for their podcast and talked freely. When I do my podcast, I hope that I can make it sound less like a book report and more like a discussion that I am well prepared for.



My second podcast I listened to was about Blogging and Teaching. This was WONDERFUL!!!! These students did not sound rehearsed in the slightest. These students talked about how they had used blogging in their class with Dr. Strange as an assignment just like we are doing. They also talked about how they planned on using blogging in their classrooms when they are teaching. They said how they would use it to post assignments, projects, etc. One idea I heard for using the blog in a classroom was a reason I hadn't even thought about...Not every parent can go on every field trip offered to their child. You could use this site to post pictures of the kids enjoying themselves so that the parents can still see what their child was experiencing.

The students participating in this podcast did an awesome job. There were a few times that they kind of got stuck and seemed to be at a loss for words. That may be where Dr. Strange could have jumped in with a question or two to kind of keep them rolling. I really hope that the group I am put into to do my podcast with sounds like this when people listen to us. They sounded very prepared. It was like the ones we listened to in our last assignment, it was a discussion. Nothing was being read off of a piece of paper.

One thing I really liked was that there was a picture of each group on the main site doing their podcast. This actually made me a lot less nervous about our upcoming assignment. You could see in the pictures that it is just the students sitting at the round tables together and talking about their subject. My main goal for my podcast is to be prepared and sound knowledgeable about my subject.

Again, I do not want to sound like I am reading a book report. I think the biggest obstacle for me is going to be not sounding nervous. I am hoping that because it is just a few students sitting around a table with me participating in a discussion, that I will feel okay. The idea of having other people in other classes listen to MY MOUTH in a few semesters to follow can be very nerve racking, though. I really hope that I sound relaxed!

Podcast

When I first read the assignment for podcast, I thought this was going to be horrible. Then, when I got into my first one which is Smart Board Lesson #3, I realized that, once again, we had been given an assignment that is only going to help us down the road as teachers. At first, you kind of wonder exactly what is going on with these people sitting and talking about the weather. But...and just go with me on this...it makes you stop and realize that these people cannot be that close in location if they are discussing how different the weather is where they both are. So, again, technology can still help us use each other to learn more and assist each other in our careers of education no matter where we are in the world. How awesome that there may be some teacher in Alaska who just happens to be having a problem with something in her classroom and logs into the internet and hears the same podcast that solved another teacher's exact same problem that lives in Alabama. Podcast could be of more help than most of us ever really considered. This one talked alot about different links that you could use in your class room which included, my favorite, the Feltron Report. Y'all HAVE to check this out. In order to donate data to schools, etc., this man is documenting every aspect of his life. EVERYTHING!!! He is leaving nothing out. He is giving his data for students to expand their capabilities in areas. They are learning how to take his condensed version of his life and expand it and even add to it and learn how to solve things by using his data. Crazy huh?

Now, when I went into Kid Cast, I fell in love with the idea of podcasting! These are CHILDREN in elementary schools, once again showing us up, doing their own podcast. My favorite one is the Stonewall Jackson Elementary Garden. These kids are playing the parts of items in the garden and talking about what they need to be taken care of. It is sooooo cute! Then you have Episode #1, Kid-Cast Presenting More Kid Casters. This is a child named Sam that is giving his "review" of the movie Meet the Robinsons. It is done like a radio show with music between intervals and everything! Awesome!

The Connect Learning Podcast Episode # 39 by David Warlich was actually really interesting. This podcast actually talked about the differences between age groups and their views, needs and uses of technology. It mentions how high schoolers are the texting group and picture group in their cell phone world. He discussed too, how they are also logging on to help with homework and assignments. The internet can be a great study tool for these kids trying to find out as much information as possible. Mr. Warlich talked about how the older gentlemen he talked to was saying how he didn't really care for the technological world, but he had to take his laptop with him no matter where he was going to keep in contact with his e-mail and clients. He also pointed out how technology's presence and advancements have caused such a great change in the world not by just it's existance, but because of the information it has made available to us as a people.

When you listen to EdTech Talk:The Flat Classroom Discussion with Thomas Freidman, you can see how, once again, people from different parts of the world are connecting again. Freidman is the author of The World is Flat, speaking of the technological world of course, and is trying to stress to the students to get wrapped in the world of technology. He uses the ipod example, because of course, what teen doesn't know what an ipod is. Freidman points out how the ipod business world started with just a computer and a big imagination from someone willing to get up and act on it. During this podcast, students are also allowed to come up and ask Freidman questions. So it is even better because it is getting students involved and showing them that with podcast, they are being allowed to talk to people that otherwise, they would have probably only seen on TV or in the papers.

When I listened to MacBreak Weekly, I found that you really have to kind of listen to several ones to find alot of serious business going on. In the one that I really listened to,
Leo Laporte - The Tech Guy 531, MBW-126.mp3, they were talking a little about when the i-phones were coming out and how they were going to need the okay from Apple. Apparantley no one thought that was happening which is sort of funny now considering they are one of the highest priced, top selling phones out. Anyway, MacBreak weekly with Leo Leoporte is actually very funny when you listen to it. It sounds like a radio show you would hear down here in the early am, like WABB in the morning. I would really suggest you guys check out his page. You can even see Leo's blog!

I was unable to see any of the podcast for This Week In Photography, but I was able to get onto the site and explore a bit. It looks as though this site is going to be the highest on our list as far as technology based site goes. It seems to be geared toward explaining things to do with cameras and maybe computers. You can definetly tell it is there to provide information and tricks to help people out. There are several comments written from people saying how they found it very interesting. I am very sorry that I could not get into the podcast because I am one of those people who will take ANY advice ANYONE has on computers, cameras, etc. Especially after these assignments we have had that have made us look at the fact that we need to learn all we can learn as soon as we can.

I wanted to let you all know that I found a GREAT site that really breaks down what goes into making a podcast. It explains just about every step of the process. Also, to get a just a basic explanation, you can look on the KidCast main page. I have a better picture in my mind of how they are done now. I think it is more along the lines as a radio show. And a podcast can be done about anything. That was my biggest mis-conception when I first began this project. I thought podcast were only geared toward computer nerds-no offense to anyone-and was not interested at all. I will never fear another podcast research assignment!

Best of 2007 Blog

Amazing!!! In every class I have been taking since at South Alabama, there has never been at least a few people mentioning how computers and technology's advancements are taking over our world. The same conclusion is always made; get with it or get left! This blog forces to the surface everything that so many of us are afraid to really think about. Is it really okay to be proud of and shrug off the fact that we really don't know anything about computers? Is it okay for us to just joke about the fact that we are being left behind in a world that, now days, doesn't have time to be concerned with whether or not you are up-to-speed with the rest? With technology only getting better and faster, do we really think it will all just go away? Do we really think it is possible for us to just wake up in five or ten years and computers are no longer?

This blog has made it clear that not only is learning technology going to be important for us to get our degree, but it is also going to be a necessity for us to be allowed to use them. One of my first thoughts was that there is no way this is the only person raising the question of how can we allow "technology-illiterate" people be in leadership positions in our community. He brings to light the example of how you can be totally illiterate of the mechanics of the vehicle, but you know enough to stay out of the road! In my opinion, there is no way to do this with technology...There is no escaping its path. Another point he brought about was how can we teach, even our own children, the do's and dont's of the cyberworld if we cannot even log in and navigate? Do we really think there is a place in the world for those with a degree and a fist full of jokes about how they are totally stupid when it comes to computers? This blogger really makes you think of just how shut out all the "technology-illiterate" people will be in the very near future. What will these people do when they are told they are going to be participating in, NOT ATTENDING, a teleconference ?

Another point of his..Modeling is the tool we are suppose to use the most when it comes to displaying the actions we want our children/students to pick up on. Just last semester in Dr. Marshall's Sociology class we must have spent two weeks talking about how you HAVE to be able to model the behaviour you want them to mimic. How can we expect our students to be prepared for what they must face after graduation if we can't even check our e-mail? How can we answer their questions if we have never logged into Google Docs or iGoogle? Are we selling our students short of what they deserve? Are we going to turn them out into a world of laptops, ipods, spreadsheets and blogs totally unprepared?
Something else mentioned in this blog that I could 100% relate to, is the thinning patience of some teachers who ARE totally up and going with our new found world of computers, etc. That was the pointing out of how wrong it is for them to turn their backs on those of us who have never been taught in the first place. I can remember my second or third semester at Faulkner State. My Spanish teacher was using an on-line supplement to help us learn the language. This was wonderful for some, but for others like me who had never done anything on a computer, I was totally lost. When I went to her and explained my situation and asked for help, I was told that the only help she could give me was to drop her class, pray it didn't mess up my financial aide, and try again with another teacher at another time. Really nice, huh? From that point on, I was always scared to death of computers. It took my Computer Basics teacher 2 years later to help me loosen up when it came to computers. Once I had someone willing to help me, I really started to like the computer world. Though I am still VERY far from not needing instruction, he gave me the confidence I needed to learn! There are too many teachers out there who feel that because they have already learned it, those who don't are just too far behind and they feel no obligation to help us out! This blog points out how that is totally unacceptable and I completely agree! I hope that upon our graduating and our coming into the world as the teacher and no longer the student, we can all keep in mind just how frustrating it can be when you don't get something right off the bat and we do need help. I hope that we can all be the ones who make the difference for our students and show them everything we can to keep them up to speed in a world that is not about to slow down!