Podcast Review

I really enjoyed some of my first podcasts. After downloading iTunes (I know... I am such a looser for not having an iPod), I explored the podcast options. Although there are several different categories, I found myself wanting to figure out what the "education" category had to offer. Although the range of possibilities were not as great as they were in other categories, I was very impressed by the amount of free information that was being offered in these podcasts. I found most of the information to be about useful topics. The podcasts that I explored were related to language and law.

The first podcast that I listened to was "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty tips for Better Writing." The particular podcast that I listened to was related to hyphens. The episode was full of useful knowledge on a topic about which I find myself debating with colleagues when I write formal documents. The episode gave clear directions about when to use hyphens. The directions were then followed by several clear examples. I think that this free grammar help would really help many people who struggle to write in a grammatically correct manner in their daily and work lives.

Continuing in the language vein, I also listened to a "English as a Second Language" podcast produced by the Center for Educational Development. I listened to episose #364 about filing taxes. I was very impressed by the number of episodes by the Center for Educational Development. What an amazing free resource! The episode began with a dialog between two people regarding the filing of taxes. Following the dialog, the speaker explained the reasons for and the process of filing taxes. The speaker also explained the vocabulary and idiomatic expressions presented in the dialog. The simple and practical presentation of language and information was a wonderful resource for families working in the United States but less confident about the English language. After the explanatory section of the episode, the speakers presented the dialogue at a rapid but realistic rate.

After listening to the ESL episode, I listened to "Just Vocabulary: The Useful Vocabulary Show!" I chose to tune in to episode #18 about the words "abstemious" and "rancor." The episode began with a definition of "abstemious." Following the definition, the episode repeated the pronounciation several times. The speaker gave examples of settings in which usage of this word would be appropriate. He also gave synonyms and antonyms for the word and used the word in several sentences. I think that this podcast was a wonderful resource for anyone who would like to expand his or her vocabulary. My only complaint is that I found the voice that repeats the pronunciation annoying.

My last language-related podcast (please note the proper usage of the hyphens thanks to Grammar Girl) was called "One Minute Irish" by the Radio Lingua. I listened to lesson #10 entitled "Learn Some Useful Phrases in Irish." I couldn't help but listen to this due to my semester abroad. I enjoyed the lesson and found the phrases useful. However, I thought the lesson was too brief given the difficulty of the Irish language.

The final podcast that I reviewed by "The Legal Lad's Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life." I listened to an episode called "The Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution." Of course the episode began with the requisite disclaimer. Following this, the presenter explained the term "ex post facto" and explained how treating a witness as hostile can affect a trial by "limiting the scope" of the trial, allowing the impeachment of a witness, and allowing attorneys to "focus the testimony" of the "hostile" witness. This was interesting information that, while not useful for most of us in daily life, makes us more intelligent people.

Overall, all of the podcasts presented useful information in a user-friendly format format. What a fantastic opportunity to access information for free!

Podcasting

I had never listened to or created a podcast prior to this class. After reading several articles about podcasting and how it works, I see tremendous potential for podcasts changing education.

As an article entitled "Podcasting in Education: A New Way to Inspire Learning" on the Apple Web site suggests, podcasting could present teachers with a powerful tool for engaging the students in their learning. The article states that podcasting could be used by teachers and students alike. Students could use podcasting to present information from group presentations, while teachers could communicate content or messages to their students via podcasts.

Another article posted by the Apple site called "FAQ: For Podcast fans" presents many advantages offered by podcasting that traditional methods of communication do not offer. Accessing podcasts is free, they can be accessed in many languages, and the information can reach a wider audience than a traditional publication. One environmental advantage is that podcasts do not require the use of paper.

In his article, "Making an RSS Feed" by Danny Sullivan, the author highlights the fact that RSS feeds disseminate information quickly and broadly. Because Web services such as I-Tunes automatically scan for the newest versions of RSS feed, you are more certain of encountering the most recent information and theories.

One large challenge that I would face in trying to create podcasts with my students is that my school does not currently own the camera equipment. However, I hope that in the near future we will.

With my own fifth grade class, I could imagine assigning podcasts as the method by which students could deliver presentations. However, I believe that public speaking in front of a live audience is still a relevant and important skill. Therefore, I would create opportunities for podcasts and traditional oral presentations. Podcasts provide a fresh and engaging method of presenting ideas and listening to information that would appeal to the social networking generation.

Creating and listening to podcasts opens a world of opportunities for interacting with students from other countries. I can imagine asking my students to create podcasts about a particular topic in Science and Social Studies and asking students from various other countries to view and create similar podcasts. This would allow students to gain views into other cultures in a manner that is unfiltered by the mainstream media.

I believe that it is very important to provide students from a lower economic status with opportunities to explore the most recent technology. If students explore the technology in the school setting, they gain confidence and skills that will help them enter successful academic, creative, and business careers.

A Review of Web Activities for Young Children

As I reviewed all of the links provided to the class, I realized the broad range in quality of the activities available to young children. Some of the sites were rich in activities related to content learned in school, while others had fun games that did not challenge children to learn as they played.

I first reviewed the "Teach-nology" Web site. This site contained lesson plans and resources for teachers that I might possibly use in the future to spark an idea about how to teach a particular topic in a new way. I think that the lesson plans and worksheets could also be a helpful resource to parents who would like to work with their children on review and enrichment activities during the summer months. The Web site is geared toward helping adults teach children concepts, rather than toward guiding children to find information or learn independently on the web. The few games listed on the site were very simple and did not teach meaningful content. The best of the games was a Mad Lib game, but the game did not prompt the player to vary verb tenses. Because of this, the stories that I created did not make sense.

I also explored the PBS for Kids Web site called "Between the Lions." This site had a number of activities that would be appropriate for young children. Although the concepts and skills practiced were far too young for my fifth grade students, the activities were ideal for students up to first or second grade. There were a few features about this site that I thought would really benefit young readers or younger English language learners. The first is the section in which a child can choose a story to be read aloud. As the story is read by the computer, the child can read along with the highlighted text to guide him or her. I also thought that a game called Synonym Sam's Lab was a fun way for children to identify synonyms and to compare the meanings of various words. There is also a game called "Word Play" which could be used to help English language learners understand the meaning of verbs.

The third site that I visited was called "Fun Brain." Although this site was not as rich as the PBS site above, "Fun Brain" contained some activities that I did not find on the other sites. Firstly, children could read the online version of the novel Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. This book has been extremely popular with my students. Now they are devouring the sequel. I like the idea that the online version of the text is free, making it accessible to anyone with Internet access (at home, school, or the public library). I will share that information with my students! I also liked the Math Baseball game on this site. The game allowed the player to choose the level and the types of operations which he or she would like to practice. You can even choose to complete the problems in an algebraic format. The higher level problems were challenging and would definitely sharpen my students' basic skills.

To summarize, "Between the Lions" was my favorite site for younger children, but I would not be able to use it with my current class. "Fun Brain" had some exciting features for students my age, but did not have as much content as "Between the Lions". I would rate "Teach-nology" well for its usefulness to teachers and parents but not as a site for children.

Here is a link to a resource that I like:

www.kids.gov

NETS Profiles for Students

I have admittedly never read the NETS Profiles for Students before. As I read the information, particularly the information regarding my age group, I realized that my students do meet many of these standards through the work they do in their computer class. However, I think there were some important criteria in the list that I, as their multiple-subject teacher, should not leave to the computer teacher alone.

One problem that I face is that we do not have student computers in our classrooms. Students are allowed to use the computer lab computers, but they are almost always in use by the computer classes. However, I should work harder to schedule a day each week when I can take my class to the lab. Yesterday, I also spoke to the computer teacher about the fact that I would like to collaborate with her to create projects linked to our general curriculum. She was very open to this prospect.

One of the activities listed on the NETS Profile for Students that I believe is very important is the idea that students should identify"bias in digital resources." I frequently hear comments from my students that indicate they believe that material on TV or on the Internet must be true. Although I frequently discuss bias with them, a technology project that requires them to identify such bias would help them to become savvy consumers of information.

Another important activity listed was: "Debate the effect of existing and emerging technologies on individuals, society, and the global community." I think activities that accomplish this would really benefit my students. They have had very few experiences outside of our local community because many of their families do not have the financial resources to travel. As a result, I think activities that build awareness of the world around them are key to helping them become more active citizens in the future. It is also important for them to reflect on how technological changes are altering the ways that we share information and build relationships with the people around us.

My thoughts on Web Safety for Children

As I read A Short Introduction to the Study of Holocaust Revisionism, I was appalled. Of course I imagined there were dangerously misleading and hateful web pages out there, but I hadn't ever read one like this article by Arthur R. Butz before. I immediately had the frightening realization that this was the type of article that my fifth grade students could stumble across when conducting a general search for information using a search engine like Google. Although we have discussed the Holocaust and briefly discussed World War II, neither of these topics are the focus of our Social Studies curriculum in fifth grade. Because of this, the students do not have in depth background knowledge on which to base their evaluation of the credibility of the arguments. Therefore, they, like the student described in Alan November's article entitled Teaching Kids to be Web Literate, could possibly be persuaded by the unsubstantiated arguments of Butz.

As mentioned in several of the safety articles we read for homework this week, adults have to help the children become smart consumers of information. The Internet is a reality from which we cannot totally shelter today's youth. I found the strategies suggested by Alan November in the article referenced above and the list adapted from Elizabeth Kirk's Evaluating Internet Information to be very helpful.

Although the computer teacher usually oversees all web searches conducted by the students, I would like to help my students complete the WebQuest regarding the American Revolution. When I do this, I plan to use several strategies:

• All computer screens should be visible to me at all times.
• I will not allow students to enter chat rooms or social networking sites at school. I will also discuss the fact that the information that they write on such sites should never be too personal. Additionally, I will make them aware that the information will be searchable on the Internet in the future when they are applying for jobs. (from Talking with your kids can go a long way towards keeping them safe. by Larry Magid)
• I will also direct students to use search engines designed for children, such as those listed in Kid Search Engines by Danny Sullivan.
• Having students conduct research from Hotlists that I have created and researched will also protect them while researching at school.

In his article Teaching Kids to be Web Literate, Alan November states that "Teaching students how to make meaning from the information they access rather than simply teaching them how to access should be a top priority." Although students may be viewing sites that do not appear harmful, the unsubstantiated or biased information they share is dangerous. To help students to become more web literate, I would follow November's suggestions:

• Teach children to evaluate the credibility of the author.
• Teach students to examine the source of the links on the site.
• Teach students to research the links pointing into the site.

Additionally, I would print the list of questions adapted from Elizabeth Kirk's work mentioned above as a checklist for my students to follow. An important point made in this article is that information found on personal web pages should not be considered reliable.

Finally, I would create a t-chart with my students comparing and contrasting the process of publishing a book with publishing a web site. This would give us a visual reminder of the fact that the Internet is not edited by human beings liked published books are. I could seek information from a well-known publisher about the number of submissions they receive in a year versus the number of books that they publish. This would provide the students statistical evidence of the competition involved in publishing a book that is not present on the Internet.

National Education Technology Standards

I am embarrassed to admit that I have never read the 2007 National Education Technology Standards. I read the older version of the standards when I was in graduate school, but I have not honestly thought about them since. I am lucky enough to teach at a school with a computer teacher who ensures that my students meet these standards. However, I acknowledge that, as a professional, should be aware of all of the standards that my students are required to meet.

After reading the NETS, I was struck by how many of the concepts presented in Daniel Pink's book entitled A Whole New Mind are present in the standards. I previously assumed the technology standards were very left-brain oriented and focused on developing only analytical, technically proficient minds. However, words such as "creativity," "innovation," "communication," and "collaboration" are certainly not words that I expected to find in national technology standards. The NETS reflect the changing world discussed by Pink. They reflect the need for creative, "R-directed" thinkers who will allow the United States to move beyond fulfilling utilitarian needs with technology to a more artistic endeavors.

I was also surprised, but pleased, to see the portion of the standards that require students to make connections between their learning and the world around them. One of the standards requires that students examine the impact of technology on culture. Helping students develop a strong sense of cause-and-effect and cultural awareness is an important part of our job as teachers.

Reflection on KQED's Forum: McKinsey Report on Education- Archive 12/2007

I found the discussion on the McKinsey Report on Education very thought-provoking. The guests on the show were from various educational backgrounds and brought an array of perspectives to the topic. Although I work in a parochial school, I see many teachers experiencing similar frustrations to the problems mentioned by the guests on the show. Most teachers feel frustrated by the lower pay. However, the issue that I see becoming more apparent is that many new teachers feel frustrated by the lack of professional development funds and collegial training.

The first priority in education should be helping teachers become more successful at their profession. We can only expect our students to be highly-motivated, successful, and creative if we, as teachers, strive to do the same. I have heard teachers in various settings comment on the fact that teachers are not treated as professionals. I think that in order to earn that respect, we must make sure that we are developing ourselves as professionals. I, like several of the participants in the Forum discussion, feel that one key to helping teachers become better professionals and better educators of children is to give teachers opportunities for collegial support and professional development within the school. I enjoy attending outside workshops and often feel renewed enthusiasm for teaching after attending them. However, these workshops can be costly for schools and are not available to teachers in many areas. A less costly alternative discussed by Catherine Lewis of Mills College was for teachers to engage in lesson study as it is done in Japan.

I realize that most teachers don't enjoy being observed, but most of us enjoy observing and learning from other teachers. During my graduate studies, I had the opportunity to observe fellow student teachers and Master teachers. Observation, reflection, and feedback (giving and receiving) were essential elements in my graduate program. Although it was challenging, I began to enjoy the feedback. In fact, I found it difficult during my first year of teaching when I was no longer receiving consistent feedback and reflection time.

I feel that having opportunities for collegial feedback would help me become a better teacher. In order to make this happen, all schools should have mentoring programs for new teachers or for teachers that have made transitions to very different grade levels than those in which they previously taught. Schools should also provide teachers with common planning time. If schools do not have the resources to provide substitute teachers periodically so that the classroom teacher can observe a colleague, the school should arrange a schedule that allows teachers to use one preparation period periodically to observe and give feedback to colleagues. I would also enjoy discussing teaching strategies and models of pedagogy in a discussion group. Although our time is very limited, our profession and our students are too important to neglect our professional development needs.

I think that teachers often feel pressured to teach all of the standards as quickly as possible. I believe that the California State Content Standards are important because they give teachers in California common goals at specific grade levels. During the discussion on Forum, Carlos Garcia, the Superintendent of San Francisco schools, made an important curricular point. He said that "textbooks are now the curriculum." I think that teachers often worry about straying from the manual because they want to ensure that they teach all of the California Content Standards. The standards themselves should not be the only objectives to which we limit our teaching.

Like Carlos Garcia, I feel that No Child Left Behind has has some important consequences in the field of education. However, I feel that public schools often focus too much on preparing for tests so that they can meet statistical goals rather than focusing on developing critical thinkers.


I became a teacher after following a circuitous path that led me from working with children to almost attending law school. I had enjoyed working with children in many different capacities and I am from a family of teachers. Because of this, I initially resisted the idea of teaching. The corporate world looked far more glamorous. After working in the corporate world for a time, I realized that my love was working with children, helping them learn, and learning from them.

I enjoyed listening to the podcast of the program. The audio-only program allowed me to focus only on the message of the speakers without being distracted.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Megan. I am currently teaching multiple subjects in a fifth grade classroom. I have really enjoyed teaching Social Studies to my students. I am not sure what topic I would like to use for my video, but it might be interesting to do something on the American Revolution for my students. My students also love all topics related to weather. I am not sure how this would work as a video topic, but they really need help with geography. So this could be a really helpful topic for them. Additionally, they are really interested in the current presidential race.

Alternatively, I might be teaching primary students in the near future, so I would also be interested in creating a video project (possibly science related) for kindergarten or first graders.

This summer, I will be moving to the Bay Area. So, most of my summer will probably be spent packing and unpacking. I can't wait to be back in this beautiful weather!