My Thoughts on Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

First, I'd like to say that was so inspiring and very much worth the time to watch. Dr. Pausch was so enthusiastic and energetic that I forgot he only had months left to live.
Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, the title of his last lecture, was about how he accomplished his list of childhood dreams. Even though he ran into some "brick walls," he still managed to complete his list.

Everyone experiences "brick walls," those times when you think you've gone as far as you can. However, Dr. Pausch said those brick walls are to separate the people who really want something from those who don't. I like his quote: "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." That quote reminded me of the Rolling Stones' song, "You can't always get what you want," which I sing to my children when they ask for something they can't have.

There was one teaching method he talked about that really stuck in my mind. Dr. Pausch called it a "head fake," which is learning indirectly. An example he used was football as a child. Not only do children learn how to play football, they also learn things such as teamwork and sportsmanship. An example of my own is having my children in dance classes. They're learning how to dance, but they're also learning social skills such as learning how to meet new people and getting along with others.

Also, he talked about the importance of the way we word things. We should always know when to apologize and never give excuses. Helping others and having fun while learning are also important. Overall, the message I got from Dr. Pausch was to never give up. Dr. Pausch was a great inspiration to so many people. Even though his life was cut short, he has influenced many people and definitely will never be forgotten.

My Thoughts on Fisch's "Is it an English as a Second Language World?"

This blog, written by Karl Fisch on November 12, 2007, caught my eye after seeing his video, Did You Know. As he states it, Did You Know shows that the number of English speaking people in the world is growing, mainly people who learn English as a second language. To further understand his blog post, I clicked on a link and read "Whose Language?", an article by Michael Skapinker about the growing number of people learning English as a second language and the effect it has on how spoken English is changing.

While reading quotes from the article on Fisch's blog, I am amazed to find that the number of people who speak English as a first language is declining. However, the number of English speaking people is increasing due to so many learning English as a second or third language. The point of this blog and Skapinker's article is that as the number of non-native English speakers grow, the more the spoken language will change.

Since the point of learning a new language is to communicate, those learning English as a second or third language might not adhere to proper grammar. Therefore, the spoken language might be altered in some ways. This can also be examined by native English speakers working primarily with those who know English as a second or third language. As time passes, native speakers tend to naturally accomodate their spoken English to those who aren't native speakers in order to communicate better.

While altered spoken English is acceptable in many cases, proper English is required for those who want their work published in a scholarly journal. At this rate of change, it is not unreasonable to see these changes accepted in written English. Since non-native English speakers outnumber native English speakers three to one now, why not? As Fisch said in Did You Know, shift happens.

Arapahoe High School where Karl Fisch works.

Last Semester's Podcasts

Overall, last semester's EDM 310 podcasts were really good. I don't know if I could do better than any of those students because I would be so nervous knowing that people around the world could listen to it. However, I have learned from these podcasts to be well prepared and to speak clearly. Most of the students who done these podcasts were very prepared, and they all spoke clearly.

From the four podcasts I listened to, I only wrote down a couple things that I would make sure not to do during a podcast. First, I will try to make sure I don't sound like I'm reading. During one podcast I listened to, I could tell one of the students was reading while all the other students seemed to be actually having a conversation. Also, I will try not to say "um" too many times, and I will not mention drinking alcohol at all during a podcast like one student did.

There were also things I liked about the podcasts that were done last semester. First of all, most of the students seemed comfortable during their podcasts. All the students researched their topics very well and even voiced their own opinions on some topics. Also, they help to reinforce what I've learned so far in my EDM 310 class that I'm taking right now and to give me insight on topics I haven't learned about yet.

The podcasts I listened to can be found at the link above. The four podcasts I listened to were "Blogging" with Ashley Corley, Brooke Busby, and Kimberly Pierce; "Burp Back Education" with Patricia Robbins, Megan St.Amant, and Courtney Morris; "What I learned from Randy Pausch's Last Lecture" with Brandy Wimberly, Amanda Bentley and Daniel Griffin; and "College of Education Classes and Technology Used in Them" with Kathryn Bentley, Kerrie Owens and Hanna Nolan.

Podcasts

Even though I just learned what a blog is, I haven't even heard the word podcast until I began this class. Another great educational tool, podcasts are like radio shows available over the internet. People can subscribe to them, and there are audio and video podcasts. Also, I like that the podcasts I listened to were free.


The first podcast I listened to was SmartBoard Lessons. The way Joan Badger and Ben Hazzard talk reminded me of a radio morning show, and they keep listeners interested.
Another podcast I listened to was KidCast which gives tips and ideas on how to make podcasts for students and teachers.

Other educational podcasts I listened to are Connect Learning and EdTechTalk. Connect Learning is hosted and created by David Warlick. I like his approach because he goes to workshops and conferences across the country and interviews people there (primarily educators) about education. EdTechTalk takes a different approach because they allow people to participate through a chat room and Skype. Skype allows people to make calls over the Internet to anywhere in the world.


The other two podcasts I listened to are not related to education. The first is Macbreak Weekly which discusses news about Macintosh. I don't know anything about Macintosh because I have a PC, but these guys are so funny and entertaining that it kept my interest better than any podcast I've listened to yet. The other podcast is This Week in Photography. These podcasts are about different topics about photography. Both of these podcasts seem to be professionally done.

My Reaction to Fisch's Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Karl Fisch's Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? is a post from a blog called the Fischbowl. This is an excellent post to read and many would agree since it won the Edublog award for most influential post of 2007. If you've seen Did You Know?, read this because the two go hand in hand. While Did You Know? explains why students of today should become computer literate, Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? explains that many teachers do not have the computer skills necessary to teach students computer literacy.

Computers are an essential piece of education, and many teachers (and people in general) do not know much about computers even though they've been used for years. For instance, the first time I used a computer I was in the second grade and we used a computer program that helped us learn double digit addition and subtraction. However, ten years later when I was in the twelth grade, the only time I used a computer was to write a research paper. That was in 2002, and after 10 years of using computers, all I knew about them was how to browse the Internet and write a paper using Microsoft Word.

Today, the need to become computer literate is very important since so many jobs and careers require at least some knowledge of technology; and with so many people owning personal computers now, there shouldn't be any reasons for being computer illiterate. However, even I am not as comfortable with computers as I should be. To be completely honest, I didn't know what a blog was until I began a class called Microcomputing Systems in Education, and I have learned so much just from the four classes I've been to.

Also, I understand what he means when he says that "many people appear to be rather proud of their technological ignorance." I wouldn't say that I am "proud" of not knowing much about computers, but I have felt like it was okay because so many people I know don't know much about computers either. However, now knowing the importance of using technology in education, I am eager to learn as much as I can so I can apply it in the classroom once I begin teaching.

Blogs in International Classrooms

After searching and looking at many blogs, I finally found an excellent blog by a teacher outside the United States. Mrs. McMahon is a kindergarten teacher from Alberta, Canada. Her blog, titled 2,4,5,8 Meet Me At the Garden Gate, gives parents great information on the progress their children are making in class. Mrs. McMahon posts blogs about class activities including games played, the chores each student is assigned in the classroom, and what they learned in the computer lab. Also, there are pictures of her students' classwork, links to games that promote learning, and a class calender.


Another school blog I think is good is from Nelson Central School in Nelson, New Zealand. From the school's website, you can access blogs for every classroom. The one that I'm using as an example is Room 7's Class Blog for third and fourth year students. It shows some of the students' classwork including potato plants they grew and athletic events. Some blog posts tell what the students are doing in class and have links for useful websites related to the topics. Also, there are links such as Astronomy for Kids and NASA Kids Club. This blog is an excellent way for parents to see what their children are doing in class.

Blogs in American Classrooms

Mr. Chamberlain's fifth grade class blog at Noel Elementary School is an excellent example of how blogs are used in education. This is where his students post comments to blogs on topics ranging from President Obama's inauguration to the current book they're reading called Holes by Louis Sachar. Not only do students post written comments, they post video comments as well. I was amazed by Mr. Chamberlain having his students post comments to an Australian teacher's blog on Holes since they are reading the book at the same time as the Australian students. Along with the blog posts, he has school links, a class calender, and class pictures on his blog page. If I was a parent of one of Mr. Chamberlain's students, I would be very pleased with his use of blogs.



Another good example of using blogs in the classroom is Mr. Miller's English 10 classroom blog at Branford High School. Mr. Miller has his students post comments to his blogs as part of their homework grades. Most of his posts are on reading assignments such as 1984 by George Orwell. Through these posts, students practice writing using correct grammar. Also, there are links for students to use including assignment due dates, their vocabulary list, and the classroom resource Wiki page.