My Thoughts on 'The Last Lecture'

I really enjoyed watching Randy Pausch's last lecture. The lecture was about achieving your childhood dreams. It was very moving because he mentioned how he only had months to live, but he seemed as though he found a way to accept it. He said that you can't change the cards you are dealth and that you can only change how you play the hand.

In the lecture, he gives advice on how to achieve career goals and personal goals. He spoke about his childhood dreams in the lecture and how you can not only achieve your own dreams, but how you can enable the dreams of others. He was very humorous when he spoke about his own dreams which included being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, authoring an article in the World Book encyclopedia, being like Captain Kirk, winning stuffed animals, and being a Disney imagineer.

I liked how he brought up the fact that there are always going to be brick walls and that they are only there to show how badly we want something. He told the audience how he learned from someone he admired that if you wait long enough, people will surprise you. It's an interesting statement to think about. Randy made it a point to say how you say things makes a difference in how people react to you and what you said. He also referred to having a mentor, which I think is interesting because everyone could use someone to look up to and be able to talk to. He said to be dedicated, don't bail, do the right thing, get feedback and listen, be good at something, find the best in everything, and be prepared.

All in all, I really liked the lecture. It was interesting to say the least, and I feel as though I'm taking some valuable information from it. It made me really think about how you should never take anything for granted, and you should appreciate everything you have and be happy. You should always go for your dreams and do whatever makes you happy and helps you succeed. You should achieve what you can, but as he said, "It's not about how you achieve your dreams, it's about how you lead your life."

Why Wireless?

I think having a wireless internet connection on a school's campus is a good idea. Being a college student, I find it very useful to have access to the internet while I am on campus. There have been several times when I have needed the internet in between classes or even in class for school-related information. Some teachers post class notes and handouts online, and it is beneficial for students with laptops to be able to log in and access these materials.

Some professors and teachers may be concerned about students becoming distracted by the availability of the internet at any time during class, though. I will admit that I have used the internet while in class for purposes other than accessing school-related materials. I feel as though I should have a choice as to what I am using the internet for while I am in class, though. Students that are using it for educational purposes shouldn't lose privileges if it is benefiting them in any way.

Previous Podcasts

After listening to a couple of the podcasts from last semester, I noticed a few things that could be improved on to make our podcasts a little better this semester. They were both good, but I noticed in the first one I listened to that they weren't really having a conversation about anything: it sounded more like they were reading notes and being strictly informational as opposed to discussing the topic. In the second one I listened to, it seemed like they were really nervous and were speaking very softly.

When it comes time to record our podcast this semester, I am hoping that my group will be a little more conversational instead of just telling facts. I don't want to start talking so much that it becomes boring. People want to hear something interesting that isn't monotonous. I also hope that we will be loud enough and speak clearly. Overall, the podcasts done last semester sounded good, and I am hoping that ours will, too.


The two podcasts that I watched were Useful Websites for Elementary Teachers done by Shyane Fant, Erica Sledge, and Ashley Cleveland, and Possibilities for Using Facebook in an Educational Setting done by Allison Midgette and Shaundretta Bethel.

Technology and Illiteracy…

Technology has become a major part of our society, and it is only expanding and becoming an even bigger part of everyday life. I remember being in elementary school where most of the daily "chores" teachers were required to do such as taking attendance were done on paper. In my first year of middle school, I noticed that the teachers no longer used the same ways of taking attendance: everything was being done on the computers and had to be sent in by a certain time. A lot of teachers complained, and those were probably the ones that weren't very familiar with technology...
In my opinion, it is not okay for teachers, especially nowadays, to be technologically illiterate. There are way too many changes being made from pen and paper to computers for a teacher that doesn't understand how to do it properly. That doesn't mean that a teacher should know how to do everything on a computer, but basic skills should be understood. Many new software programs are available now, and a lot of the information would be beneficial to students, but if a teacher doesn't get technology, it's unfair to the students. All teachers should make it a point to understand technology.

Podcasts

Podcasts are becoming more and more popular here lately with many people getting involved in podcasting. They are a modern approach to getting ideas or information out to the public for useful purposes. Podcasts can be fun and full of information or interesting thoughts. I have never really been into podcasts, but I have learned that there really are a lot of interesting ones to see or hear.

SmartBoard Lessons focuses on using interactive whiteboards in the classroom. There are two people discussing subjects and new information about particular subjects. It was easy for me to be distracted while listening to the different episodes, but all in all, they were very descriptive and helpful.

KidCast is a companion to a book. It is just one person talking that basically gives recommendations for better teaching skills in some of the podcasts. Others were informative on different subject material.

EdTechtalk was like a live, interactive webcast constructed like interviews. There are numerous guests to discuss different topics of choice. It is interesting because listeners can interact with the people in this podcast by commenting or joining live chats.

Mr. A's Geometry Podcast are done with the intention of helping students enrolled in geometry courses. It is very helpful because he states that he is willing to do instructional videos upon request for concepts a student may not understand.

MacBreak Weekly is basically a big group of people discussing Macintosh Apple and giving their thoughts about it and sharing information related to it. Some of the same people involved in MacBreak Weekly are involved in the podcast called This Week in Photography. They discuss techniques, technology, and news related to photography. It seems to be very useful to someone interested in photography.

My Presentation

International Blogging: Example 2

The second example of international blogging is a blog in Australia. It's interesting because they have a lot of neat gadgets on there like a little map that shows locations of people that have visited and a counter of how many people have visited the blog. This blog also has a lot of links to other blogs in the U.S. and some other international bloggers. It also has a little world time map on there: if you hold the cursor above a country, it will tell you what time it is there. This is the most interesting one I found.

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=98041

International Blogging: Example 1

The first example of international blogging is a blog being used in Canada. It states that its purpose is for the students to communicate with others all over the world, and for the students to be authors for others to read anywhere on the planet. There are assignments and student entries. Many have commented on the blogs. I personally like this one because I have a lot of family in Canada, and it's good to see that they are communicating with students all over.

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blog_id=298804

Blog in U.S. Classrooms: Example 2

The second example is a first grade class using blogs to interact with other students and to do assignments, too. There are a lot of videos and pictures of the students using the blog and actually meeting other students using blogs. Each student has a link to his or her own blog, and they have all of their assignments on there. The teacher also has a website with a link to the blog and different activities the students can do for educational purposes. This one was my favorite.




http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=51798

Blogs in U.S. Classrooms: Example 1

The first example is a 5th grade class that is using the blog approach to expand their writing skills. The teacher puts assignments up, and the students post blogs. Their blogs show the teacher that they understand the concepts she teaches like capitalization, for example. Each student has a link to his or her own blog where their assignments are located. It's an interesting idea to use blogging as a way of a type of homework assignment.



http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=149466