Randy Pausch Lecture

I watched this lecture when it first came out over a year ago. It is amazing to me how he can be in such high spirits during a situation like what he is in. Anyone can learn a great deal from him by watching this lecture. Teachers can especially learn a lot from him.

First of all, enjoy what you do and never give up. Dr Pausch obviously loved what he did. He accomplished every childhood dream he had. He never gave up or believed that he could not accomplish his dreams. He worked hard and enjoyed every minute of it. You could tell by his lecture that he loved teaching as well. Another thing that was easy to tell is that he had a close relationship with his students.

Make learning fun. Looking at his classes you can see how interesting he made learning. He had fun and exciting projects. This is something that needs to be incorporated into the classroom. When you make learning fun, students will understand and comprehend the material much quicker.

Don't be selfish. Throughout the lecture, Dr. Pausch did not pity himself one time. He focused on the lesson at hand. There is always going to be struggles in our lives however keeping a positive attitude and keeping focus is important.

Also always believe in your students. It was not hard to see that he had a close relationship with his students. He could call out scenarios that occured in the classroom with the student by name. He always gave his students the benefit of the doubt. He respected them and they respected him. He never stopped challenging them and always reminded them to follow their dreams.

Randy Pausch lived an amazing life. He accomplished anything he set his mind to. One thing that was still in the works when he become sick was a program called Alice, which is a program that teaches high school students how to do computerprogramming.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

We all know that computers are needed everyday. They are an important asset to everyone in the workplace and in the classroom. In the Fischbowl blog,"Is It Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" it talks about the importance of being technologically savvy. The author talks about how we live in a technically advanced world and how computers are needed in every day life. He also finds it interesting that many teachers just blow it off like it's no big deal to not know how to do things on the computer. I know that people get comfortable and do not want to step up, but if teachers don't then the students will struggle. It will then become a cycle and students will not grow up strong in technology.

A quote from the blog I found interesting was, "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." This is so true. Computers are becoming more involved in school work. The learning has to start somewhere.

I know before this class I only used a blog once for a school project, never listened to a podcast, never heard of Google Docs, and few other things. And I thought I was literate in computers. There will always be something new to learn. There will always be an updated version. So it is important to know the basics and build on it.

I don't know if there is something set up like this already, but it may be a good idea to have certain standards that must be reached at each grade level. I know when I was in elementary school all we did was play games in computer class. I'm sure now things have changed, but maybe they could be a little bit more orderly so students can be taught a wide range things.

Podcasts

The first one I listened to was Smartboard Lessons.It was hard to follow at first, but as I listened I realized what they were saying. They were giving information to teachers about how to teach different topics, such as data. The example they used for this was Feltron 8.This is a guy who has recorded everything from the steps he takes in a day to data in the news. This website can be used to teach math lessons such as ratios, percentages, fractions, etc. They also provided links that are helpful to teachers. One of the links I thought would be helpful is Teachers Connecting. This website allows teachers to connect with other teachers across the country. They can look for help, support, and ideas to better their classrooms.



The next podcast I listened to was KidsCast. This was a really cute idea. It allowed students to create their own podcasts, something I don't even know how to do and elementary students are posting them. The students are not only expanding their knowledge through technology, but also with whatever topic they are reporting about. I think this is a great way for students to learn, just another method of teaching that isn't out of the book.


EdTechTalk gives an example of how you can go live and talk to someone across the country or even internationally. One of the guests gave a neat link for creating Comic Strips. This would be really neat for creative writing or grammar lessons. It can help build creativity, reading, and writing.

All the podcasts were informal and conversational. Obviously one of the characteristics of a podcasts. I believe it is an important. No one wants to listen to a dull cast. It is important to incorporate humor and creativity in the podcasts.

Blogs in the Classroom

Here is Mrs. Wells' class in San Antonio, Texas. She has a fourth grade class where it looks like each week, one of her students creates a blog on a different topic, ranging from science to history and so on. It is also a place to leave announcements for the class. Also it shows where her class worked on podcasts.

I'm not sure exactly where this one was originated, but I thought it was a really great idea. A teacher by the name of Mrs. Young has a blog for summer reading. A great way to help students stay on top of things in the summer. It has a schedule that students can follow to balance out the reading load in the summer. Also it has a reading discusion board so the students can discuss and ask questions on the assigned books.


Here is an example of Mr. Lietze's classroom in New Zealand. He used the blog to post projects created by the students as well as linking other websites to his blog for supplemental help in each subject. Also the children were able to place their own posts up on the site.




In Mrs McNamara's classroom, in Australia, she uses her blog as a detailed message board. It would be a great way to show parents what is going on in class and keeping them informed. It shows what is covered in class and includes pictures of projects that have been done. It also gives the students expectations that are to be met for the semester.



I believe that incorporating blogs in the classroom is a great idea. It is something that will keep a child's attention by having a fun learning experience. I believe they will learn so much more in this way because it is hands on, especially if the students are allowed to help out with page. This will definitely be something I will use in my classroom.