NYT Middle School Article

Personally I don't agree with either side of this argument, I believe that middle school is a necessary transitional step in the education process. The article talks not thrusting children into forced adulthood while they are undergoing a lot of physical and emotional changes, but you are still thrusting them in to that role when you don't give them any build up to high school. Some believe that middle school is unnecessary and that we should just eliminate it. I can see where there would be some argument to this regard, however, if we "coddle" these kids we are hindering their emotional development and if we thrust them into high school at 11 years old they will be forced to grow up far too soon. Middle school is a necessary step to student growth and must not be cast aside as unnecessary.

Danecast QR

For my personal podcast was one of Comedian Dane Cook. Dane does these podcasts every so often to let his fans know whats going on and just to connect with his fans on a more personal level. Although there was some explicit language in this podcast it was extremely helpful, he didn't talk much about podcasting but it showed me that he is human and not some celeb that has no time for his fans. This podcast lasted about 20 minutes and it really made me respect him both as a comedian and as a person. Even though he really didn't say much it proved to me that Dane isn't some guy acting as a comedian, it showed me that he and his general thought pattern is just funny in general and I think thats why he is such a successful comedian, because he lives the part.

Podcast QR

A podcast is an electronic message that can be either used in audio form or in video form. These podcasts can be used several ways in the classroom. They can be used to make a mothers day gift, teach children how to do something, or even record lesson plans. There are a number of reasons why teachers would want to use podcasting in a classroom setting. First they could use podcasting so students can take their lessons home and lesson to the notes instead of trusting them to read them. It also gets students using technology that they will have to use in future jobs. It can also help students learn more because some students learn things better by hearing them rather then seeing them. On the other hand, some podcasting could just take up time and not get the same result. Podcasting can also be somewhat difficult for teachers who don't like using technology and prefer to leave it out of their classrooms. I honestly like podcasting because I believe it will help me reach more kids in my classrooms and as teachers we need to try to reach as many kids as possible.

Copyright and Fair Use LR

14. This "rule" is absolutely ridiculous, because although it does make sense that they should pay to view the movie it's basically blocking out something everyone does. Not paying for the movie originally makes sense to be illegal, but if someone rents/buys a movie they should be transferring ownership at which point they can do whatever they want with it. It is not the fault of the people actually purchasing this movie if someone is downloading it illegally. Most laws don't take into account new technological advances. Showing these movies in a large setting might even convince someone to go out and buy that movie themselves so they really have no argument in this situation. However, when someone buys the movies, makes copies of them, and sells them that should be and is illegal. That is why it makes me mad when they say it is illegal to show some kids a Disney movie, or watch a movie you just bought with your friends. These laws are ridiculous and shouldn't be even around let alone enforced.

Copyright and Fair Use QR

1. Number one makes sense in the fact that you would need to back up your information in case of something like that happening.
2. This also seems to make sense because if a hundred students are using a program that was made for one the school should have to pay a licensing fee.
3. This type of situation is kind of a no brainer, if she bought five copies of the software and installed it on just five machines, that should be fine, but because it is being used for educational purposes the company wants more money.
4. Copying software without paying for it makes sense in an economic stand point but I can see where it is illegal.
5. Illegal, Illegal. Its common sense that you can't make copies of software so each student can have their own even though it makes sense.
6. When it comes to the internet I believe pretty much anything should be fair game, thats why this situation is considered fair use.
7. This situation also makes sense because if it is password protected and it is just for a certain group of people it should fall under the fair use.
8. This doesn't make sense to me because if you cite the website and say that it is their work you are presenting on it should be fine. I don't see where the problem is.

NetDay Results

When taking a look at the answers of school children or “digital natives” I see much of the same answers that I had on the survey. I don’t consider myself an expert by any means, but I have come to rely on technology to make my work and my life that much easier. What really surprised me though was the amount of teachers that didn’t really use much technology and I believe this could contribute to some of the generational gap between students and teachers. Especially in Maine where we have the Laptop program, teachers need to at least have some knowledge about technology. I may not be a digital native, but if not I immigrated at a very early age. I believe this will have a lot of influence on my teaching style because it will make me closer to the students and I won’t seem like as much of an outsider to them, which is crucial in a classroom environment. I will also try to use technology as much as possible in my teaching style, because I tend to rely on it just as much as my students do. It was fairly surprising to see that most of my answers were similar to the answers of the school children. I assumed that they would have different views on how to use technology in schools because I am older that them and haven’t had the same technological advances as they just grew up with. It makes me feel a little better that I do have something in common with my students and that is the ways we like to use technology.

QR blogging

My experience with blogs so far has been somewhat interesting, after sorting out the problems I had with my username and password. I was surprised to see how much you could do with the blogs on this website. This is a far more interactive blogging website then I have used and has many features that I probably haven't come accustome to yet.

QR Chapter 2

The most important idea in this chapter as is the most important factor in the education system is respect. If a teacher and student don’t have mutual respect for one another it severely compromises their ability to succeed. Another pressing issue in the chapter is trust. Trust is not something that comes on the first day; it is something that both parties have to work toward whither it be a student trusting a teacher not to embarrass them or a teacher trusting a student not to lie to them. Trust is a critical component to the education system, and without it the relationship just doesn’t work. A Teacher’s relationship with their students is the most important part of school, because it determines whither or not a student can/will succeed.

QR Chapter 1

The most interesting topic in this chapter was one that I believe there are teachers who do very well and there are teachers who do very poorly at, knowing what one should or shouldn’t know about their students. It is important not to push your students to find out information about their personal lives. But at that same time you can’t be a stranger to them. Many teachers in my experience either do this very well or very bad, some will push and push to get the information they want and students pick up on that and don’t respond well to it. However those who seem like they relate to their students probably let that information come casually. Pushing a student into giving you information about their personal life doesn’t work, however being approachable and accommodating will allow students to share about themselves when they see fit. A teacher’s ability to know about their students and get their students to trust them is a definite measure of how successful they will be as a teacher.

QR Introduction

The most interesting part about this section I believe is when the author is describing the book. She explains that it is not a compilation of “experts” trying to make sense of the education system; it is merely a grouping of what makes a good teacher from the students themselves. I believe this to be particularly useful because many text books assigned in colleges and schools take an analytical approach and look at the topic from behind glass. It only makes sense to ask the people who are on the front lines such as the students. Who better to tell someone about the education system than those who the education system affects directly nearly every day? She also states that this book is looking at students for who they are, not what their test scores are. This is a particularly radical approach sense the education system holds test scores so highly. However, this approach does seem like a better one, because students aren’t when they score on some standardized test they are people.

QR Preface

The second paragraph in the Preface says that every student feels a certain amount of captivity and anonymity; I find this particularly interesting because it starts out with a topic that everyone who has been through a public school system has felt at one point or another. Whither it is on a college campus where teachers don’t know their students names or even in a local high school where the outcasts are left out of the day to day system a students educational experience seems to be greatly dependent on how comfortable they feel in that environment. If a student isn’t comfortable in school and doesn’t feel like the school cares about them they are more likely to lead a stray and/or “start fires in the bathroom.”