I was just at the library and they had a bin of CDs that they were selling 2 for $2 and I bought an oldie, but a goodie: "Ella and Basie" put out by Verve records. No hesitation in buying them and if you're reading this wondering who Ella an Basie are, you're probably in the wrong blog.
Anyway, I was listening to this CD on the way home and I suddenly realized how rare it is for my daughters to hear the same music that I hear. We have individualized music so much, that when one person listens to something, the whole family isn't automatically hearing it, too.
Growing up, I heard my parents' music often. To this day I associate Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash with my father. I hear any kind of pop music from the '50s, especially Jerry Lee Lewis and the Coasters, and I think of my mother.
I wonder if my kids will think of any kind of music and think of me. We're always listening with headphones on, in our own private world now.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Twitter as Newspaper for 21st Century
I'm now a die-hard Twitter fan, after previously dissing it. I think sometimes, I get impatient with the new "newness" of something. I guess that comes with being 45 and a bit of an old grump about change.
Anyway, now I am regularly calling Twitter my "21st century newspaper" to those who wonder what on earth I'm doing with it. I read the tweets every morning with my coffee and click on the links that I'm interested in, much like scanning the headlines in the newspaper.
I feel like I'm getting a good sense of the world, rather than just the US, by subscribing to tweets from Al Jazeera English, BBC and various Canadian outlets. It also saves on the time it would take jumping from site to site.
I don't really care who follows and doesn't follow me - I don't find that Twitter always makes for a good chat with someone unless you both happen to be tweeting at the exact same moment. Replies can often get buried, but I've noticed that I pick up on them a lot faster when I use my iPhone for Twitter.
Anyway, I'm tweeting a lot now and those silly little random thoughts are going out on Twitter rather than on the blog. For my twitter page, simply click on the link on the right of this article.
Anyway, now I am regularly calling Twitter my "21st century newspaper" to those who wonder what on earth I'm doing with it. I read the tweets every morning with my coffee and click on the links that I'm interested in, much like scanning the headlines in the newspaper.
I feel like I'm getting a good sense of the world, rather than just the US, by subscribing to tweets from Al Jazeera English, BBC and various Canadian outlets. It also saves on the time it would take jumping from site to site.
I don't really care who follows and doesn't follow me - I don't find that Twitter always makes for a good chat with someone unless you both happen to be tweeting at the exact same moment. Replies can often get buried, but I've noticed that I pick up on them a lot faster when I use my iPhone for Twitter.
Anyway, I'm tweeting a lot now and those silly little random thoughts are going out on Twitter rather than on the blog. For my twitter page, simply click on the link on the right of this article.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Sigh...OK...I give up - I REALLY want an iPhone!
I know, I know. Apple is a cult and people who have Macs and iPhones just jabber endlessly on and on about how wonderful life is now that they have this thing that is just perfect and never has any problems. Steve Jobs is an icon on their dashboard and they kiss it like a...well, whatever that thing that Orthodox Jews have by their doors.
I just totally, sinfully COVET this thing called an iPhone. I haven't had any cellphone in my life yet, but I just want to go all the way and get a really good smartphone. I also hate the idea of a tiny keyboard ala Blackberry. I love the idea of a touchscreen.
I'm totally behind the "App" idea, too. And to top it off, I just read this friday fun article at Daily Kos and I'm even more into the coveting idea. It even works as an emergency flashlight, for cryin' out loud. This is like the swiss army knife of cell phones.
Screw the iPad, I wanna iPhone.
Friday, July 24, 2009
No more Twitter for me...
You may have noticed I attempted to add a Twitter account, but I've deleted the account already. There were two problems that I discovered rather quickly. The answer to the question "What are you doing?" seemed too difficult for me to come up with, which demonstrates that this writer's block I've been experiencing is pretty deep rooted by now.
Also, I really got the account to follow "breaking news" kind of items and started following about 14 different accounts. Well, apparently, I did something wrong because all 14 accounts "disappeared" within 24 hours and it said I was following 0 accounts. I discovered that I didn't want to play yet another online game with the non-existent support staff at yet another website (Due to negative experiences with both Ebay and amazon.ca, I will never deal with either again).
Most of the time there are no problems with sites and they can go on automatically and rake in the money without actually having to work. For the few times there are problems the person who has the problem only gets automated responses (amazon.ca does this) and it is very difficult to get a person. When you do, finally, (after 10-20 emails) get a person, they simply continue to repeat what the automated responses say, no matter what. The people do not even attempt to think on their own, which is becoming a larger and larger problem with society as a whole.
Ebay committed the worst "sin" in my opinion. When you file a "grievance" (I never received the book I ordered despite repeated emails from the seller that he sent it), ebay automatically gives your PHONE NUMBER to the person you have a problem with. The guy calls me AT HOME from far, far away and wants to "solve" the problem over the phone!! I immediately stopped going to ebay after that. Within a few months the automatic emails stopped (it's not possible to "unsubscribe" apparently)
Well, these two experiences made me delete my twitter account. I've learned that if you have problems, that is the best way to deal with websites. Don't even attempt to contact them. There's no point.
Also, I really got the account to follow "breaking news" kind of items and started following about 14 different accounts. Well, apparently, I did something wrong because all 14 accounts "disappeared" within 24 hours and it said I was following 0 accounts. I discovered that I didn't want to play yet another online game with the non-existent support staff at yet another website (Due to negative experiences with both Ebay and amazon.ca, I will never deal with either again).
Most of the time there are no problems with sites and they can go on automatically and rake in the money without actually having to work. For the few times there are problems the person who has the problem only gets automated responses (amazon.ca does this) and it is very difficult to get a person. When you do, finally, (after 10-20 emails) get a person, they simply continue to repeat what the automated responses say, no matter what. The people do not even attempt to think on their own, which is becoming a larger and larger problem with society as a whole.
Ebay committed the worst "sin" in my opinion. When you file a "grievance" (I never received the book I ordered despite repeated emails from the seller that he sent it), ebay automatically gives your PHONE NUMBER to the person you have a problem with. The guy calls me AT HOME from far, far away and wants to "solve" the problem over the phone!! I immediately stopped going to ebay after that. Within a few months the automatic emails stopped (it's not possible to "unsubscribe" apparently)
Well, these two experiences made me delete my twitter account. I've learned that if you have problems, that is the best way to deal with websites. Don't even attempt to contact them. There's no point.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Computers in Education, Part 2
"I hope for some sort of peace - but I fear that machines are ahead of morals by some centuries and when morals catch up there'll be no reason for any of it."
~President Harry S. Truman (quoted in McCullough, David. Truman. p. 415)
Pres. Truman wrote this shortly after touring the rubble that used to be Berlin shortly after Germany's defeat. He actually said this before he authorized the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is an interesting comment and I wonder what we will say in the coming generations about our infatuation with technology. It makes it all the more important that schools come up with ways to incorporate the technology and guide students in the proper and safe use of technology, because they are involved, whether we like it or not! I'm thinking I should have titled this "Technology and Education", but there it is.
The first part of this article dealt with the largely downside of technology in education, but now I wanted to think and write more about why we need to incorporate even more technology in our schools.
An interesting article came out in the December 2005 issue of Educational Leadership. It's called, "Listen to the Natives" and it's written by Marc Prensky. He's coined the terms digital natives, which our students are. That is, they are the ones who are immersed in the culture. We (the adults/teachers) are the digital immigrants. We do some technology, but we speak with an "accent". We have to begin to listen to the students if we want to help prepare them for life in the 21st century.
I am becoming fascinated with the idea that we are approaching another "Enlightment" of sorts. As the postmodern culture begins to take over and leave the modern culture behind, there are new movements afoot. One of them that I am looking into very closely now is the emergent church.
Churches and Christianity must find a different way of thinking as it strives to bring the message of Jesus Christ to a different culture. But I digress....
In this article, Prensky shows how schools, as they are now, cannot prepare kids for the 21st century:
"Pragmatically, our 21st century kids' education is quickly bifurcating. The formal half, 'school', is becoming an increasingly moribund and irrelevant institution. Its only function for many students is to provide them with a credential that their parents say they need. The informal, exciting half of kids' education occurs 'after school'. This is the place where 21st century students learn about their world and prepare themselves for their 21st century lives."
It's funny how we herd kids, group them unwillingly, make them learn what they don't want to learn (and probably don't really need for the future, anyway). We make them shut up, sit still and take it in. I'm still guilty of this because I learned this way and it worked for me. The point is - it CANNOT work for today's kids!
I'm starting to feel increasingly restless with old style school and curriculum. As I have becoming more immersed in technology, I find that I can only express myself through technology. It's becoming a part of me - and it is even more a part of kids lives today. Banning the use of cell phones in schools, for example, could be leading to more problems that it will solve. The cell or blackberry has become an extension of our children's brains and they can't function without them. How about using the video games that our students are so involved in as a model of curriculum organization? It may seem silly, but many are giving it some serious thought!
An important thing to keep in mind that this doesn't mean we need lots of actual technology in the classroom. What we need to consider is how technology is actually changing the way kids think and process information. Children learn differently than the children of just a generation ago.
I get a pen and paper and it remains blank to me. I can't think of a thing to write. Give me a computer and I can't shut up! I need an electronic medium to talk out loud and give myself a voice now. How odd.... I wonder how much of an accent I still have...
I know this has been kind of a jumble of thoughts ~ maybe I'll come back and clean this up some day. Make it more presentable. But I had fun writing it and that, in the end, is what counts!
I found this cartoon and found it appropriate here. Sometimes I feel like this is what educators on low budgets are doing in the classroom...
~President Harry S. Truman (quoted in McCullough, David. Truman. p. 415)
Pres. Truman wrote this shortly after touring the rubble that used to be Berlin shortly after Germany's defeat. He actually said this before he authorized the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is an interesting comment and I wonder what we will say in the coming generations about our infatuation with technology. It makes it all the more important that schools come up with ways to incorporate the technology and guide students in the proper and safe use of technology, because they are involved, whether we like it or not! I'm thinking I should have titled this "Technology and Education", but there it is.
The first part of this article dealt with the largely downside of technology in education, but now I wanted to think and write more about why we need to incorporate even more technology in our schools.
An interesting article came out in the December 2005 issue of Educational Leadership. It's called, "Listen to the Natives" and it's written by Marc Prensky. He's coined the terms digital natives, which our students are. That is, they are the ones who are immersed in the culture. We (the adults/teachers) are the digital immigrants. We do some technology, but we speak with an "accent". We have to begin to listen to the students if we want to help prepare them for life in the 21st century.
I am becoming fascinated with the idea that we are approaching another "Enlightment" of sorts. As the postmodern culture begins to take over and leave the modern culture behind, there are new movements afoot. One of them that I am looking into very closely now is the emergent church.
Churches and Christianity must find a different way of thinking as it strives to bring the message of Jesus Christ to a different culture. But I digress....
In this article, Prensky shows how schools, as they are now, cannot prepare kids for the 21st century:
"Pragmatically, our 21st century kids' education is quickly bifurcating. The formal half, 'school', is becoming an increasingly moribund and irrelevant institution. Its only function for many students is to provide them with a credential that their parents say they need. The informal, exciting half of kids' education occurs 'after school'. This is the place where 21st century students learn about their world and prepare themselves for their 21st century lives."
It's funny how we herd kids, group them unwillingly, make them learn what they don't want to learn (and probably don't really need for the future, anyway). We make them shut up, sit still and take it in. I'm still guilty of this because I learned this way and it worked for me. The point is - it CANNOT work for today's kids!
I'm starting to feel increasingly restless with old style school and curriculum. As I have becoming more immersed in technology, I find that I can only express myself through technology. It's becoming a part of me - and it is even more a part of kids lives today. Banning the use of cell phones in schools, for example, could be leading to more problems that it will solve. The cell or blackberry has become an extension of our children's brains and they can't function without them. How about using the video games that our students are so involved in as a model of curriculum organization? It may seem silly, but many are giving it some serious thought!
An important thing to keep in mind that this doesn't mean we need lots of actual technology in the classroom. What we need to consider is how technology is actually changing the way kids think and process information. Children learn differently than the children of just a generation ago.
I get a pen and paper and it remains blank to me. I can't think of a thing to write. Give me a computer and I can't shut up! I need an electronic medium to talk out loud and give myself a voice now. How odd.... I wonder how much of an accent I still have...
I know this has been kind of a jumble of thoughts ~ maybe I'll come back and clean this up some day. Make it more presentable. But I had fun writing it and that, in the end, is what counts!
I found this cartoon and found it appropriate here. Sometimes I feel like this is what educators on low budgets are doing in the classroom...
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Internet Safety for Children
I tell the kids that the Internet is a city, like Vancouver. They need guidance and supervision to get around the city. I wouldn't take them into certain parts of Vancouver - if I had a choice. If I did need to take them into any part of Vancouver - I would make sure I, or another responsible adult, was with them.
To that end, I wanted to take some time and talk about internet safety. I have also posted some excellent links here to help you. There is one site, Netsmartz.org, that is designed for children to learn about internet safety through music videos and other activities. I encourage you to take the time to go to that site with your child.
We are at a point where we cannot just keep kids away from the internet. It is too interwoven in our lives now. It also is such a powerful tool for all people to use, whatever their occupations or interests are. Therefore, rather than avoiding internet use, we need to educate children (and especially their parents) in some basic guidelines.
Keep that city image in your mind as you evaluate your child's access to the internet. Would you allow your child to walk alone down the streets of any city with their name, phone number, address and daily schedule stuck as a label to their jacket? Yet that is what we sometimes do without thinking, by allowing our child unrestricted, unmonitored access to the internet. As we teach children about being safe with strangers, being home alone and with matches, we need to give them instruction on internet safety.
I wanted to list some things that are good for parents to know about internet safety:
- Computers should be a public area in the home, not in bedrooms.
- When commenting on my blog or the classroom's blog, do not use your last name at all...I have deleted all comments that refer to last names. Better yet, enter your comment as 'anonymous' - If it is a positive and/or appropriate comment, I will allow it to appear on the blog.
- Learn how to check 'history' on Internet Explorer or the alternative on whatever web browser you are using. This will list all the sites that the browser has been to for the past X number of days (you can reset the number of days, I forget what the default is.)
- Beware of Internet Messenger (MSN) and/or Yahoo Chat or other instant messenging programs. If you don't know what those are, talk to me or your local computer geek.
- Look for how to set parental controls on your computer and web browser. Again, talk to me or your local computer expert if you don't know how to do that.
- Make sure you sit down and talk about what your child is not allowed to post - basically, they should never give away their full name, daily schedule, phone number or location. They should never meet someone they met on-line without your knowledge and presence.
My commitment to you in regards to internet usage at school and the publishing of information on both my blog and the classroom's blog:
- I will not allow your child's full name to be posted on the internet.
- I have removed the link to the school's website to avoid any potential 'undesirables' from connecting your child to a specific location.
- I have enabled 'comment moderation' on both blogs. This means that I will preview all comments before allowing them to be posted on the blog. If they are positive and/or appropriate comments, I will allow comments from anyone.
If you have any other questions or concerns, please let me know. I'd be happy to show you how to do some things with the Internet, too, if you're unsure of your way around. Happy surfing!!
Here are some links to help you, specifically with blogging:
Friday, March 17, 2006
On Computers in Education, Part 1
I remember how disgusted I was that evening. I was watching the evening news and I heard an interview with a middle school principal here in BC. He was complaing about the lack of funds for finishing the new middle school library and he said something to the effect: "When we were all done putting in the computers, we didn't have enough money left for books."
Why was I disgusted? Priorities seem out of whack in education today, particularly when it comes to the subject of technology.
We are in such a hurry to be 'up to date' we don't have enough information or in-staff training to support the technology that we buy. So there are no books and the computers collect dust.
When I was in high school, personal computers were just starting to make headway into the everyday lives of consumers. Our school had just aquired what was then considered pretty good technology - TRS-80's from Radio Shack. My friends and I called them "Trash 80's". Now my high school is no slowch when it comes to having staff that is well-trained and 'with-it'. It did not rise to become one of the best Christan Schools in the US by being lazy and 'out of it'.
However, at this time, even the staff was in a quandry with how to even use these computers within the school. The computers were kept in a room (hooked up, ready to go) within the large library.
My friends and I, having recently discovered the loophole in the PE teachers curriculum in High School, spent most of our PE periods there learning how to program the computers using the BASIC language. We would purchase books that would be full of computer games, only you would have to literally type in the BASIC program into the computer. Then you could play the game (provided that you didn't have even ONE typo or skip one of the hundreds of lines).
After about a year of this, one of the math teachers, a dear lady who I absolutely dispised at the time, but now I see that she was an incredible teacher (her name escapes me at the moment) - she had to teach us basic computer skills. We kept our tongues out of respect (in other words - FEAR) of her stumbling. Finally, she turned parts of the class over to my friends - I was more of a follower in this endevour, so couldn't say much. Turns out, one of my friends, Mark Milbourne, actually was paid by the school to write the first program to catalogue the school library. He went on to DuPont, I think...
There are certain cautions about technology that have been brilliantly pointed out by Neil Postman and others. First, there can be no true community through computers. Schools are about being communities of learning and technology is about individuals interacting with the technology. We need to be very careful as we look at technology in our schools and remind ourselves that technology cannot instruct students how to work and live with others. Secondly, computers are a tool and not an end in themselves. We can teach more about computer skills actually by using them as tools and ignoring the 'computer skill' curriculae. For example, in order to teach students to write, I want to use a classroom blog as well as on-line student written book reviews. The computer is just a tool. All the skills for computers are taught incidentally as one goes about the job. The advantage of this is I don't need to worry about being 'up to date' (let's face it, we never will be - unless we have money to burn..). I can just work with the technology given and use what I can.
An incredible article came out in a recent edition of , Educational Leadership, which also gives some caveats that we, as parents and educators need to think carefully about. I'll close this post with just a few quotes from this article:
"...the more access student had to computers in school and at home, the lower their overall test score were....computers more likely distract them from their studies."
" For example, although we know that computer programs can help small children learn to read, we also know that face-to-face interaction is one of the most important ingredients in reading readiness. As a result of increased time spent with computers, video games, and TV the current generation of elementary students will experience an extimated 30 percent fewer face-to-face encounters then the previous generation."
Makes you think, doesn't it??
Bibliography:
Groothuis, Douglas. The Soul in Cyber-Space. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997
Healy, Jane M. Failure to Connect. New York: Simon& Schuster, 1998
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. (and other works)
Monke, Lowell W. "The Overdominance of Computers" Educational Leadership Dec'05/Jan '06, Vol 63, No. 4. pp 21-23.
Why was I disgusted? Priorities seem out of whack in education today, particularly when it comes to the subject of technology.
We are in such a hurry to be 'up to date' we don't have enough information or in-staff training to support the technology that we buy. So there are no books and the computers collect dust.
When I was in high school, personal computers were just starting to make headway into the everyday lives of consumers. Our school had just aquired what was then considered pretty good technology - TRS-80's from Radio Shack. My friends and I called them "Trash 80's". Now my high school is no slowch when it comes to having staff that is well-trained and 'with-it'. It did not rise to become one of the best Christan Schools in the US by being lazy and 'out of it'.
However, at this time, even the staff was in a quandry with how to even use these computers within the school. The computers were kept in a room (hooked up, ready to go) within the large library.
My friends and I, having recently discovered the loophole in the PE teachers curriculum in High School, spent most of our PE periods there learning how to program the computers using the BASIC language. We would purchase books that would be full of computer games, only you would have to literally type in the BASIC program into the computer. Then you could play the game (provided that you didn't have even ONE typo or skip one of the hundreds of lines).
After about a year of this, one of the math teachers, a dear lady who I absolutely dispised at the time, but now I see that she was an incredible teacher (her name escapes me at the moment) - she had to teach us basic computer skills. We kept our tongues out of respect (in other words - FEAR) of her stumbling. Finally, she turned parts of the class over to my friends - I was more of a follower in this endevour, so couldn't say much. Turns out, one of my friends, Mark Milbourne, actually was paid by the school to write the first program to catalogue the school library. He went on to DuPont, I think...
There are certain cautions about technology that have been brilliantly pointed out by Neil Postman and others. First, there can be no true community through computers. Schools are about being communities of learning and technology is about individuals interacting with the technology. We need to be very careful as we look at technology in our schools and remind ourselves that technology cannot instruct students how to work and live with others. Secondly, computers are a tool and not an end in themselves. We can teach more about computer skills actually by using them as tools and ignoring the 'computer skill' curriculae. For example, in order to teach students to write, I want to use a classroom blog as well as on-line student written book reviews. The computer is just a tool. All the skills for computers are taught incidentally as one goes about the job. The advantage of this is I don't need to worry about being 'up to date' (let's face it, we never will be - unless we have money to burn..). I can just work with the technology given and use what I can.
An incredible article came out in a recent edition of , Educational Leadership, which also gives some caveats that we, as parents and educators need to think carefully about. I'll close this post with just a few quotes from this article:
"...the more access student had to computers in school and at home, the lower their overall test score were....computers more likely distract them from their studies."
" For example, although we know that computer programs can help small children learn to read, we also know that face-to-face interaction is one of the most important ingredients in reading readiness. As a result of increased time spent with computers, video games, and TV the current generation of elementary students will experience an extimated 30 percent fewer face-to-face encounters then the previous generation."
Makes you think, doesn't it??
Bibliography:
Groothuis, Douglas. The Soul in Cyber-Space. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997
Healy, Jane M. Failure to Connect. New York: Simon& Schuster, 1998
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. (and other works)
Monke, Lowell W. "The Overdominance of Computers" Educational Leadership Dec'05/Jan '06, Vol 63, No. 4. pp 21-23.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Important Grade 2 links!!
Hey all you grade 2 students and parents! Another reason I wanted to begin with this blog is to actually post some links that you can just click on and then you can go to the site. I will keep updating this post, so check frequently for changes! You could use the public library for extra books to read.
Also, please use the math links below to help you practice your math facts!!
Math links:
aplusmath.com
coolmath4kids.com
aaamath.com
mathplayground.com
Math Magician
Science / Social Studies (Unit) links:
Bat Conservation International
On-line Bat Puzzle
Mexico for Kids
Kites in the Classroom
Local Nature Reserve
Find out about Canadian Animals Here!
Spelling and Phonics review:
Phonics Games from Between the Lions
General sites for fun and/or skill review:
Funbrain
The Kidz Page
Big Idea Fun
PBS Kids
Funschool
Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles!
Facthound - great site for kid-safe searching!!!
Also, please use the math links below to help you practice your math facts!!
Math links:
aplusmath.com
coolmath4kids.com
aaamath.com
mathplayground.com
Math Magician
Science / Social Studies (Unit) links:
Bat Conservation International
On-line Bat Puzzle
Mexico for Kids
Kites in the Classroom
Local Nature Reserve
Find out about Canadian Animals Here!
Spelling and Phonics review:
Phonics Games from Between the Lions
General sites for fun and/or skill review:
Funbrain
The Kidz Page
Big Idea Fun
PBS Kids
Funschool
Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles!
Facthound - great site for kid-safe searching!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)