Blog Assignment 8

"This is How We Dream"
I can definitely relate to Mr. Miller. I love books as well, and I am all about using them to teach others. He is right however when he says if that's all we focus on, that's what we'll get.

I don't entirely agree with his thoughts on becoming what seems to be a paperless world. It seems like a good idea in theory. He says that even when you take something from the web, it's still there for others to access, unlike when you check a book out from the library. That is an excellent point. What I don't agree with is that we shouldn't steer completely away from real books and writing on paper. There is a certain quality kids learn from doing those things. When writing a paper, with pencil and paper, there is no spell check, no grammar check. I know I have become entirely too dependent on those things and I believe it is an injustice to students to have them do all there writing on computer. Most students don't even know how to write an old-fashioned letter, let alone address it when they are through, now we just send e-mails.

Overall, I really liked the concept. Being able to access all kinds of info is completely awesome. I do believe however, that we just need to be careful not to let it take over. Books, in my opinion are still important. Many may not agree with me, and I may seem outdated, but I don't think we should steer away from making kids learn skills like writing properly. 


"The Chipper Series" and "EDM310 for Dummies"

Both of these videos were very cute and informative. I thought that "The Chipper Series" videos were exactly the way most college students think. I know I think that way sometimes at least. We all work on our own time frames and we think that future is the present. I know I am one of the world's worst procrastinators. My work usually gets done at the last minute because sometimes it feels like it's the only time I have to do it! I believe we do get taught in this class...however, sometimes that just means we have to teach ourselves. I don't think it's completely the teacher's responsibility to do ALL the teaching. We learn things on our own and from other students. I know that in this class I've had to depend on my friends to explain some things to me and I've done the same in return for them. Sometimes, we as students, think we know best. I think the point of Chipper was to show us, that we totally don't. EDM310 for dummies was also a very cute video. I also love the way it was set up as a commercial. It made me feel silly for stressing out over this class. I guess when you put it into perspective, it's a lot easier than we think.


SMART boards

I definitely agree with these 2 posts. In my opinion, SMART boards are there for looks. They are cool, I must admit, but not worth the money they cost. One of my teachers had one when we were in the 9th grade. We all thought it was very exciting and neat that we had one, but that excitement wore off very quickly.

The blog post I found in support of SMART boards was very helpful. Many of the teachers found the fact that the board is interactive to be the most helpful quality. They all raved about how the students could be very hands on. The link below will take you the page (several comments from different teachers from different grades).

check it out