Blog Post 8

This is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2
In Mr. Miller's, "This is How We Dream" videos, Part 1 and Part 2 he shares how text and print are almost becoming obsolete in our society today. We work just about wherever we like, thanks to our laptops and obtain information through the internet. Therefore, we spend less time in offices and libraries. He shows how technology can and should be used to write, research, share and teach. A very different and groundbreaking way that we can collaborate and share information through the internet by composing documents that contain text, pictures, music, video and charts/diagrams.

Mr. Miller said, "ideas are not our own, they are our cultures." I love this quote because it is important to share our ideas, especially in education, if we want to fix may of the issues that are present in the education system. I mention our education system because that is the field that I am entering once I graduate but through the internet, anyone in any field can create and share their ideas on any topic. Mr. Miller states that it is important to create "beautiful compositions" because it will engage more viewers and can be shared globally much sooner than if it were written in plain text. We want and need to share information to make changes and learn from one another, so why not take advantage of the tools that are available to us?

With the changes that are always taking place in technology, we definitely need more educators to teach the students how to use the tools available so that they can learn, create and share their ideas in the future. I am learning how to write, create and share my ideas through technology and will continue to build on what I have learned. Since teachers are not the only educators and students themselves have become educators through Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites on the internet, it is important that give our students something positive, useful, engaging and important to the future to pass on.I know that I have a lot to learn but I feel like I am already writing with multimedia, on a much smaller level, in this class.






Carly Pugh's Blog 12
I believe that Carly's Blog 12 assignment is definitely an example of what Mr. Miller is referring to when he says "writing with multimedia". Carly shows just how creative she is with this idea. As we learned from Yong Zhao, in the video "Learn to Change, Change to Learn", "technology is just not here to help teach traditional subjects, but has invented a completely new environment." I would call this a digital or multimedia lesson plan and a very great way to engage more students in learning about different and almost any subject.

I am really enjoying this opportunity to explore Youtube because prior to this class, I used Youtube solely for music and funny videos but I am seeing that there are many videos there to teach and inspire. By creating this playlist, we will not only have resources to teach and engage our students with but have resources to remind us of our own philosophies and motivations.






The Chipper Series & EDM310 for Dummies
I believe that the primary message of both The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies is that we, the students, have full control of how we progress through EDM310. We have every resource that we need from the beginning of the semester, therefore, there is no reason to fall behind in our work. I will admit that even though I have never turned any assignment in late, I am really busy with my other classes and my family and am only able to keep up with assignments due that week. I do, however, allot time each week to work on these projects so that I am not late.

I think that I would like to make a video that shares with my viewers how I balance my student, family and personal life. It is far from perfect but compared to the beginning of the semester, I feel much more grounded and haven't experienced any anxiety when I look at my checklist since then.





Learn to Change, Change to Learn
Learn to Change, Change to Learn, is a very interesting video addressing the issue of how students are being taught in our technological based society. The educators in the video share their opinions but also some facts about the "schooling" of today's students. According to Cheryl Lemke, these students are learning so much more outside of the classroom through the internet, communities, museums, libraries friends and family. The amount of resources that they have outside of the classroom is almost limitless, so why does so many classrooms place limits on what kind of technology the student has to learn from?

Stephen Heppell explains that with these new technological advances, teachers must be given a place to experiment with educating and share their results with one another. Daniel Pink states that giving students standardized tests is not going to prepare them for the jobs that they will be working. He states that the jobs that they will be working will not require what he calls the, "right answer vending machine approach". Daniel Pink says that the jobs that they will be working will require them to be creative, able to collaborate, understand context, and problem solve, just to name a few. I agree with what the educators in this video are saying. Our resources to learn and teach have been limited until now but our resources are almost limitless and all that is required of us as educators is to take the initiative to research what it is that we want to teach our students. I believe that it is also our responsibility, as Richard Miller stated in his "This is How We Dream" videos, part 1 & part 2, to share this information with others because "it is not ours but our culture's".