Blog Post # 10

I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga. Mr. Spencer's cartoon brought back memories. I knew right away that the titles were two types of pencils. I have used both types as a child and when I need a pencil now, I can probably find one in my home office. My initial thought was the cartoon was about pencils. I thought that strange since our class is on the uses of technology in our society. I began to read comments left about the cartoon and the light bulb went on. This cartoon was not about the pencils...but a metaphor for computers, how we use them and exactly what they are. Mr. Spencer explained it to be a mock of the "I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC" commercial. The Papermate is less costly than the Ticonderoga thus, the PC is less costly than the Mac. The old saying about "you get what you pay for" rings true in this case. The PC may not be the best PC in terms of performance and ease of use performing certain functions, but that does not mean it's a bad buy. The Mac on the other hand in my opinion is the "Mercedes Benz" of computers. I own a Toshiba and an iPad and I prefer to work on my Ipad because of its ease of operation. I can't do all of the activities I would like to on my iPad such as "green screen movies" so my next purchase will be a Mercedes Benz. I mean a Mac!

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? This post is pretty funny. The principal wanted to see Mr.Steven in his office. He had concerns about Mr. Steven's class playing games in his class. Mr. Steven's talked about the strategy of using advanced simulation as one of his teaching techniques and further expounded on how physicians use the simulation strategy to learn to operate. The principal was not happy with that explanation and reminded Mr. Steven that he needed to follow the state based methods of learning. The principal was obviously "old school" because he stressed Mr. Steven focusing on memorizing information so they can pass the test. He suggested Mr.Steven use another old school method of worksheets and algorithm information to help his students. Mr. Stevens found a solution... another game, called the "The Factory Game" including algorithm into a Conflict Oriented Reading and Writing Project. This was great solution to the problem and funny too. I'm sure the principal was still not a happy camper but the solution satisfied his request and Mr. Stevens kept the fun in the activity for his class. I don't know that as a first or second year teacher I would have the guts to challenge my principal the way Mr. Stevens did, but I would like to think that I would.

  Remember Pencil Quests? Mr. Stevens talks about one of his junior year teachers and the scavenger hunt ("Pencil Quest") she took them on. Instead of looking for different items, the students were looking for specific pages of materials to read. The students had a map with locations marked on it. The teacher said the quest was called a "moving textbook" and the students had to finish the quest. He remembered this activity because it was one that was different and more exciting than other assignments he had done while in school. He still uses the pencil quest activity in his classroom.

 One of our EDM 310 class projects a few weeks ago had a scavenger hunt activity where we went to different sites locating specific items. The pencil quest activity reminded me of our assignment. It was interesting and broke routine of reviewing videos and reading blogs for an assignment.

 Mr. Stevens was telling us not to throw away all of our pencils because they are still useful. The writing in books are still captivating for some people.  Some old techniques are still relevant and technology being all the rage now is not the end all to everything. Ibooks are still written words, maybe not written with a pencil, but still written .

  Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?

The blog post by Scott McLeod called Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?looked strange to me as I opened the blog post. At first I thought my web page did not load correctly and so I reloaded it. I loaded the same way a second time. In this post the parents and teachers are asked to not teach their children to use computers, write on line or anything related. He digs at people who think the internet is bad and tells everyone not to teach their children because he is teaching his children and wants to see who will be more successful later in life. This post is full of snide remarks.

 Mr. McLeod mentions students taught the correct use of computers kills will have an advantage in life. He pokes fun at parents and school board members that believe the internet is evil. His thoughts on the subject really peaks my interest. The students should be taught internet skills. I've never had a class on using the internet and I am self taught. I am of the generation that did not grow up using computers, iphones,ebooks, etc. My young friends taught me to use Facebook, Skype, and Facetime. When you teach yourself sometimes you learn the wrong way and in this class, I have learned the right way to do some things I learned on my own as well as many new things. The material I have learned has many benefits to my professional life and to my personal life too.

 Scott is fervent about using technology in the classroom. He has received many awards centered around technology leadership as stated on his blog. He has a continuous challenge to introduce schools to technology in the classroom. His career has been focused on helping school integrate technology into the schools. Mr. McLeod is also a blogger.