Blog Post #6

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student
I think this video shows a great way that students can use technology to learn as well as network for their future careers and learning. This is also a great way to show students and teachers that they can use technology to create sources for not only them to learn but for us as teachers.This video allows teachers to not feel discouraged when technology is introduced into the classroom. Teachers will always be needed, maybe just to a lesser degree.
At the end they ask Why do students even need teachers in this kind of situation. Most people forget all of the responsibilities that a teacher has other than just teaching. A teacher is always needed for guidance, organization, and a source to look to. The teachers help his or her students to build networks and make more opportunities for the future. I enjoyed the little reminder of the importance of technology as well as teachers in this video.

A Seventh Grader's Personal Learning Environment

This seventh graders personal learning environment is amazing. I hope one day I can put something together like she did. It was so interesting to see how she had so much and connected it all. I only dream that I could have had the opportunity to learn the way she is in seventh grade. She did an awesome job narrating her page!

Why Smart boards Are A Dumb Initiative
Michael Stanton seemed to know an awful lot of stuff for something soooo horrible. Everything that he pointed out to me seemed like an absolutely awesome idea.All the things that smart boards can do are interesting and so great for students.His two arguments were: 1)Smartboards don’t change the model that’s broken. They just make that model way more expensive and 2)Smartboards are an administrative cop out. Administrators like Smartboards because when they spend money on technology they need to spend a lot of it and it needs to be on things they can point to and count.
TimeOutDad said...one of the posts in response to Stanton http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-smartboards-are-dumb-initiative.html.
I would have to completely disagree with everything Stanton has to say.In TimeOutDads response he says back to Stanton, "there are other cheaper ways, but the other ways are not easier". I would have to agree with all the wonderful things the Smart Board can do. Just because it costs more than most would agree to spend, does not mean it is not worth it.

Why I Hate Whiteboards by Bill Ferriter
I understand when Ferriter says that some schools buy technology just to say that have it, but that is not always the case for all schools and classrooms. These smart boards are more than a bunch of money. They are the future in which our children are going to learn and grow up in our world. Technology is apart of our lives and we might as well jump on the bandwagon sometime.
K Martin responds at his blog, http://www.edweek.org/persona.html?U=1113147&plckUserId=1113147. He makes a great argument when he says that,"Our student population is in constant need of more background/world knowledge, visual access to content, and representation of both languages they are working with - English print and American Sign Language". There are other reason out there for these technologies other than just to waste money. That is not the over all objective here.