Educational Media

Today is the last day of my educational media class. I started the class feeling like college would never end, but now I really like my dream of being a teacher is getting closer. I learned so much in this one class about teaching and now I can't wait to use it all! Not only have I learned how to blog, I have learned so many other ways to incorporate technology into learning, and I even feel more confident using the computer. For my last blog I thought I would talk about some of the things I learned in my educational media class. 

I learned how to blog and that blogging is a useful way to keep students and parents informed about what is going on in your classroom.

I learned how to make an instructional architect project on the Internet, not only did this project teach me something about technology, it also gave me some insight about how to plan a lesson. 

I made a voice thread powerpoint. I had done a couple of Powerpoints before, but did not know I could add my voice to it and use a drawing tool to highlight things. I think voicethreads are a great learning tool.

I learned many other things that I have failed to mention, like copyright laws and how to use the Inspiration program. My educational media class really helped me grow as a potential teacher!

Should They or Shouldn't They?

I recently saw a link to an article that said New York City schools are going to provide STD and pregnancy tests. Not only that, but everything will be confidential! The article said that parents are torn over the idea and I feel the same way. My initial reaction is that it is a terrible awful idea. Giving free and confidential testing makes is sound as though the school is condoning sexual promiscuity. Also, as a parent of a high schooled-aged child, I would want to know if they were sexually active, pregnant, or infected with an STD. Sex is for adults, not underage children! However, even though that is the way sex should be, this is usually not the way it is! So, right there on the other hand I think it could be a good idea for students who feel they have no where else to turn. For example, a student may be pregnant, but scared and unsure about her options, so she may decide to terminate the baby. If the school could offer such a student a safe haven then I would consider it to be okay, although I do think the student's parent's have a right to know if their underage daughter is pregnant! I suppose if there is no way to prevent underage students from having sex, than we (and the school systems) should at least make sure they are safe about it!

Cash for learning?

I recently read an article on ednews.org that talked about a new program where schools are actually paying students to attend tutoring sessions. The school picked 20 students for the test program and of those 20, 16 agreed to participate and only 9 stayed all year. The program pays students based on attendance and academic performance. One of the students from the program stated that he learned a lot and actually enjoyed the program. The student also stated that he spent the money he earned from the program on clothes and a game boy. The article made it sound as though the program was a success and they would be trying the program again next year. 

I personally think the idea of paying students to learn is a bad idea. The test run of this program cost $18,600 and only 9 students participated! Schools have enough trouble trying to find enough money without paying every student to learn! What about the students that enjoy learning just for the sake of learning! I feel like they will lose their natural drive to learn if they know that could be getting paid! Or will we just have to start paying them for making good grades? I do, however, think giving students an incentive to learn is a good idea... just not a monetary incentive.  

For more information please see: http://ednews.org/articles/tutoring-incentive-program-seems-to-pay-off-for-students-.html

Money for Schools

The lack of money in schools has really been bothering me lately! In middle school I went to a school that had a really low budget. The school was in a rural area with a small amount of students. The school could only afford to pay teachers a certain (small) amount and therefore the school did not necessarily attract the best teachers and the students were not getting the best possible education. I think this is a terrible vicious cycle and not fair to the students that must attend that school. 

I assume that the state would give the school more money if the students scored better on tests, but I think it is kind of hard to improve scores if you don't improve teachers. The school also lacks in the proper technology needed for the kind of education it takes to succeed in society today. Most students from this school are not accepted into a four year university right after graduation and some do not attend college at all. 

I suppose the government is "trying" to improve education spending, but I somehow doubt this school will ever reap the benefits. Education is too important not to take note of this issue. 

Is Makeup work worth it?

I recently read an article from the New York Times titled, "Makeup Work Allows Students to Slide by, Critics say." The article claimed that many schools are allowing students who fall behind to complete makeup work to earn credit. While this may seem like a good idea, the article mentioned one boy who had been promoted to to the twelfth grade and could not write a complete sentence or read a line of text but had earned credit through after school programs. This is a real issue! 

I believe that schools have become so focused on test scores that they forget what the real purpose of education is. Schools are meant to educate and what good is it doing anyone for a student to makeup meaningless work? So what if a school has the highest test scores? Is it producing productive and prepared people to put in society? This is what the goal of education should be! Not allowing students to slide by with less than mediocre grades so they can simply graduate!

While most agree that credit recovery can be a good tool when used correctly, school systems have to decide just what the right way is. States are planning to assign new regulations to credit recovery this fall, including things like limiting the number of credits recovered a student can earn and not allowing students at low performing schools to be eligible for credit recovery. 

For more information visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/nyregion/13credit.html?ref=education

Community College

I recently read an article on ednews. org that talked about President Obama's new plan to push Americans to attend community college. He will unveil a $12 billion initiative to boost community colleges. Education is the third tier in the new president's plan, with healthcare reform and renewable enegry being at the top. Obama wants America to be the leading country in college graduates by 2020. The President also predicts that there will be significant job growth in fields that require associates or vocational degrees.
I think that that community colleges are a good idea. Where I am from if you graduate from high school with atleast a C average you can go to community college for free. However, my parents would not allow me to take this opportunity because they were scared that I would not go on to a four year. However, community colleges offer smaller class sizes and therefore more individual attention for students. Community colleges are also about half the price of a four-year university.

For the Betterment of Education

I just read an article on ednews.org titled, "The Dumbing-Down of America." The article spoke about the different approaches states are taking to "improve" their school systems, and how he feels that these "improvements" are really for the worse. For example, he says that some schools want to take away electives like physical education and computer classes and allow students to choose their own electives. They say that allowing children to choose their own electives will help prepare them for college. The author of the article insists that until we realize the real things that will improve learning, school systems are going to continue being stuck in a rut. The author insists things like promoting a love of learning, smaller class sizes, teaching more of the basics like reading, writing, and math, and teaching communication skills are the real key to improving education. I agree with the author of the article, school systems need to focus on preparing children for life, not just for the next exam.

For more information see: http://ednews.org/articles/the-dumbing-down-of-america.html

Homework

I recently saw an article on ednews.org titled "Homework:Damned if you do, Damned if you don't." I found this to be a little shocking! As a student I have always expected homework to be assigned. This seems a common preactice! If you want to learn something you must practice it, right? The article talks about how homework is suppossed to be the connecting factor betweeen the school, the child, and the parent. So, why all of a sudden is assigning homework a problem? The article claims that for homework to be effective, everyone must go along with the system, this means that parents must be on the same page as the school. However, a lot of parents today feel as though homework is infringing on their childs personal time at home. Is this a logical argument? I feel that a small amount of homework every night is acceptable because homework reinforces what is learned during class time. However, I do not think an overwhelming amount of homework should be assigned because the students do deserve some free time.

For more information see: http://ednews.org/articles/homework-damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-dont.html

Cram Schools

Last summer I had the privilege of working with three Korean students who just moved to America. Over the summer I noticed that these kids were very different from any student I had ever seen. They were very hard working and driven to do their best. A recent article on ednews.org explained some of the things Korean families go through to get their children the best education possible. 

In Korea students might go to school from 7:30 am until 11:30 pm everyday! Because the American school system is not that rigorous, Korean students, and some Americans, are starting to attend "cram schools." These schools offer some of the same fast paced, driven curriculums one might expect in Korea. These schools can cost a pretty penny, and while the schools put on strong emphasis on academics, they also focus on extra-curricular activities since most American colleges are looking for a well-rounded student. 

For more information see: http://ednews.org/articles/tutoring-centers-also-show-korean-americans-the-world-outside-the-classroom-.html

Microsoft High School

I just read an article about a school that was run by Microsoft. Instead of books, the school is run entirely from computers. The $63 million project school was started in an area with at risk kids. The hope was that the kids would be equipped with technology skills that would help them get jobs. After three years in operation the school has been deemed a failure. The school, dreamed up by Bill Gates, has gone through four principles and has never had any good leaders. I personally think the school is a bad idea because students need books! Apparently they even decided to forgo a library in favor of more computers. Kids need to hold books and be able to take them home and study them. A school based entirely around technology sounds good, but I think it would have worked better if paired with a more traditional style of education. Computers are good, but they will never take the place of a good old fashioned book!

Copyright laws and English class

As an English teacher, I think I would mostly be concerned with the print aspect of copyright laws. With all of the technology out there today it is becoming all too easy to simply copy and paste someone's work off the internet and use it as your own. Plagiarism has always been a factor in writing papers, so I think an English teacher should stress the consequences that come along with plagiarism.

Although I think print laws are the most important, I think all teachers should find a way to teach students about all copyright laws. It is so simple to download illegal music from the Internet and this is one of the most common copyright violations, so teacher should try to encourage their students not to do this!

Are high school kids worse?

The other day in my Educational Media class, my teacher brought up the subject of high school age kids. She has always been an elementary school teacher except, of course, when she is teaching this college course. She made the comment that after visiting a high school she saw how bad the kids were and that those of us who were in secondary education would need some prayers.

When I told my family I had chosen secondary education as my major, my grandmother had much the same reaction as my teacher concerning high school aged kids. She said that kids are getting worse and worse every year and that by the end of my teaching career, kids behavior will be almost unbearable.

These opinions really scare me! I guess I knew when I chose secondary education that high school kids were hard to handle. After all, I was a high school kid just a few years ago, but I thought I could handle it. I am still confident that I can handle these unruly children, especially with a few years of practice under my belt.

Fair use of copyright

     While learning about copyright in my educational media class we discussed the term "fair use." I thought I had the copyright rules down to a simple "Do not copy anything without permission." Although this concept of fair use may require learning a few more rules, I think it is very beneficial. 

     We learned about the four tests to use when determining fair use and that all four tests must be used when determining if something was indeed "fair use." The first test is to determine the purpose and character of use. For example, if a teacher is using something to show to her class for educational purposes, this is okay. Burning illegal songs onto compact discs and selling them would not be okay. The second test is to determine the nature of the copyrighted work. Is the work being copied factual or creative? The third test is to determine the amount of the copyrighted material being used. It is usually left up to the owner of the copyright to determine how much of the work is substantial. The fourth and most significant factor is the effect upon the potential market value of the copyrighted work. It is important to remember that the court will consider all POTENTIAL use not just the ACTUAL use. When copying something it is also important to consider the damage done if not only you, but every other teacher in the world copies the work. 

Voice Threads

     In my educational media class we are learning about all different types of media and today we discussed voice threads. I have never heard of this before, but think it is very interesting. We discussed that one of the ways to use voice threads is in a powerpoint-like presentation. At first I wondered what the benefits of voice threads were over a traditional powerpoint and lecture. Why not just create your powerpoint and then tell your students the things you were planning to record on the voice thread? However, I then began to realize several benefits for using a voice thread. 

The first one I considered was that the teacher could plan ahead and make a powerpoint and voice thread and then let them learn a little on their own and asks questions when needed, by following along with the presentation the teacher could also pause the slide and make additional comments. I also considered that if a student does not hear the explanation a teacher gives the first time, it is possible to hear the voice thread again and again. I also like the drawing feature of the voice thread because it gives the presentation some pizazz. Instead of just looking at motionless pictures and words,  students may be intrigued by the drawings which adds movement and excitement to the slide. So, I decided that the benefits of a voice thread presentation greatly outweigh those of a traditional powerpoint and lecture. 

Learning about copyright issues

I am a sophomore in English/Language Arts Education at a large college in the south. I am finally finished with all of my basic courses and am taking my first education course. After completing the first reading assignment in my educational media class I am feeling a little overwhelmed by all of the responsibilities a teacher must keep up with. Not only are teachers responsible for the welfare and education of a classroom full of students, now I have learned they must keep up with the current copyright procedures! Copyright was not something I was anticipating to learn about, however, I now have an entire textbook loaded with facts! Who knew that all most every movie I watched in highschool was considered copyright infringement. I was also shocked to hear that before a teacher distributes a worksheet, she must be sure to obtain the proper copyright information or risk infringment charges. These are things I just never thought about, so I am glad to be taking this course! During my pre-teaching experience I was feeling a little bogged down by all of the duties a teacher must keep up with. However, over the course of the week I had come to feel confident that I could handle such responsibilites. I am sure that with experience I will also become more confident in the many rules regarding copyright.

For more information see: Simpson, Carol. Copyright for Schools. 26 May 2009.