iSchool. The future of the classroom.

Many people do not realize the cost of supplies for a school.  Books, paper, pencils, etc. can cost thousands of dollars each year.  Imagine how much money could be saved in each school each year if we did not have to pay for these costs.  This would make more money available to pay teachers and keep programs.  By being able to pay teachers, it would help keep classroom size down in turn being able to benefit students.  School programs can help students become a rounded person and more prepared for life after high school.  A great solution for this is iSchool.  iSchool is an application for Apple products such as iTouch and iPad.  With this new touch screen technology, Apple Products have made it possible to take notes, read textbooks, and interact with learning tools that could eliminate books, paper and other costs for schools. You may be thinking right now "the iPad costs too much money for each student to have one." The school would only have to buy one iPad for a student for their entire school career.  Whereas now the school is paying for books for each student each year and other supplies.  It can save a huge amount of money that is much needed elsewhere in the school system.  Along with the cost benefits, the iSchool can make learning more hands on for students.  It can get students more excited about learning which is always a plus.

Mark Henry Making Video Easy

In class Thursday, Mark Henry spoke to us about video and audio.  He discussed the best way to use these tools when we will need them for student teaching.  Henry gave an easy way to remember the four rules of videoing by SCAR: space, camera, audio, and record.  When you are first setting up the camera, you want to make sure that you have the entire field of view and that there are no windows in your picture.  There are five things to remember about the camera: (1) tri-pod, (2) full battery, (3) empty memory, (4) format, and (5) audio on full.  There are different types of audio to choose from.  All cameras have a microphone built in.  However, the camera will be far away so the sound will not be that good.  Henry recommended using a secondary audio such as a lapel microphone that went to a recorder.  This way the microphone is right next to you and will pick up everything you say clearly. The most important step is record.  Since he suggested using a microphone separate from the camera, you will have to synchronize the video and audio.  Henry recommends starting the recording to the video and audio and clapping so the sound will be picked up on both.  This will give a point that will be easy to synchronize so that the audio matches the rest of your video.  Henry broke it down to help up remember the essentials.  He wanted us to find a compromise between simple and good.

Could Students Achievement In Life Be Based On Use of Technology In The Classroom?

In society today, technology is continually evolving and growing.  Technology is being used in every job today one way or another.  Since school is supposedly preparing students for jobs, should technology not be a part of their education?  As Sam Roberson says in Defying the Default Culture and Creating a Culture of Possibility, “—schools as we now know them are becoming increasingly irrelevant.  One obvious reason for this irrelevance is that schools are failing to change with the times.” (p 886)  Roberson is setting an expectation for education to use technology in a way that will prepare the students for its use in society and culture.  He goes on to discuss how the classroom has not changed much in the past century with the teachers still at the front of the classroom lecturing.  More student involvement and use of technology needs to occur.  It is evident that Roberson feels this way from the quote:   “If one of the traditional purposes of schools—to prepare students for the outside world — is valid, then it seems reasonable that educators should be on the look-out for changes within the larger environment and mirror those changes within the school.” (p. 889)  This will help prepare students better to fulfill the requirements of the Framework for 21^st Century Learning which Roberson also includes.  Roberson also states that “adhering to outdated educational  practices and ignoring the demands of the world outside the school, schools are retreating into irrelevance rather than charging full face into the challenges and opportunities of the future.” (p. 886)  Since there is an expectation put onto education by the use of technology in society and culture that is not being met, some think education is becoming irrelevant.  Over all, if more technology is incorporated into the classroom, the more prepared a student will be for the real world.  This could greatly improve students achievement.