This is a sensitive topic because of importance of technology in today’s society. As we have stated over and over in this class, Technology is becoming more prevalent with each passing day, however there are those low economic areas where students don’t have cell phones and access to computers and the internet. This is where the problem comes into play; just because a low percent doesn’t have these items does that mean we can incorporate them in today’s classroom? I think there has got to be a way around this and a few students should hold back a whole new way of learning, possibly a better more effective and hands on way of learning.
I’m not sure if I will be doing them a disservice personally, as a future PE teacher it is going to be tough to introduce technology into class every day. I think I might try and incorporate some kind of heart rate monitors and pedometers to some of my lesson plans so they can use numbers and math as well as have a better understanding of how the body works.
I think being a PE teacher can also be a tough task because are class sizes are usually much larger. This makes it tough for teachers to have enough equipment and materials for the whole class. It seems like with all the different teaching styles the lecturer style is fading out and power points are successful with the wide range of possibilities, Students are visual learners more than they ever have and we need to take that into consideration.
I think I will require students to write one paper on a health related issue therefore I would try and do my best to sign my class up for a day in the computer lab and library to do some internet research and get help where they need it. This may not sound like a lot, but every little bit helps and it will help build on their foundation.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Power Point Blog
I thought the power point presentations went very well. I was excited to see all the students feel more comfortable uing the powere point presentation style of teaching. I thought The embedding of the video links made it easy for the instructors to use and navigate.
Some things I noticed that needed improvement were how a few slides were overloaded with text and writing, I got lost in all the print and it made it tough to read from the back. For the most part of presentations went well, the main thing that caught my eye were the slides that were cluttered with pics and words that eventually i would get lost in.
After viewing all of the presentations in class I could have done a better job using some sound clips. It is tough to know how to navigate through all the options power point provides. I also thought My main layout slide was boring and could have been more colorful or eye grabbing.
I love using power point for presentations, I think it is more effective then a lecture style. Power point can be a great tool if you know how to use it to its fullest capabilities students can really get a ton of info out of a power point presentaion by using pictures, words and video. Power point also helps create better eye contact between the teacher and students. At times powerpoint can be a burden becasue there is always a chance of technical difficulties.
Some things I noticed that needed improvement were how a few slides were overloaded with text and writing, I got lost in all the print and it made it tough to read from the back. For the most part of presentations went well, the main thing that caught my eye were the slides that were cluttered with pics and words that eventually i would get lost in.
After viewing all of the presentations in class I could have done a better job using some sound clips. It is tough to know how to navigate through all the options power point provides. I also thought My main layout slide was boring and could have been more colorful or eye grabbing.
I love using power point for presentations, I think it is more effective then a lecture style. Power point can be a great tool if you know how to use it to its fullest capabilities students can really get a ton of info out of a power point presentaion by using pictures, words and video. Power point also helps create better eye contact between the teacher and students. At times powerpoint can be a burden becasue there is always a chance of technical difficulties.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
PUT THE CELL PHONES AWAY!
School disruptions can come in a number of forms. Ringing cell phones can disrupt classes and distract students who should be paying attention to their instructors. Text message has been used for cheating and is another huge distraction to students. And new cell phones with cameras could be used to take photos of exams, take pictures of students changing clothes in gym locker areas, and so on. These are many of the issues that cell phones can cause.
'Laptops, just to touch on one small slice of a district’s technology budget, are much more versatile yet uniform than cell phones.' Is a qoute from the article and I agree with the fact that why would we look into buying students cell phones when schools are still in need of computers and laptops. These tools are the real tools that will help our youth prepare for the future.
Now lets look at the positives of cell phones in our schools... I'm waiting... Okay so cell phones are a way to integrate technology into the classroom, but I'm still not sure it is worth the risk, and not every student has a cell phone or a cell phone with the capabilities of others therefore some students are going to feel left out and not connected like other students. I feel for the sake of school safety and policy cell phones should be prohibited other wise school boards are saying that cell phones are allowed becasue of public pressure and convienence.
'Laptops, just to touch on one small slice of a district’s technology budget, are much more versatile yet uniform than cell phones.' Is a qoute from the article and I agree with the fact that why would we look into buying students cell phones when schools are still in need of computers and laptops. These tools are the real tools that will help our youth prepare for the future.
Now lets look at the positives of cell phones in our schools... I'm waiting... Okay so cell phones are a way to integrate technology into the classroom, but I'm still not sure it is worth the risk, and not every student has a cell phone or a cell phone with the capabilities of others therefore some students are going to feel left out and not connected like other students. I feel for the sake of school safety and policy cell phones should be prohibited other wise school boards are saying that cell phones are allowed becasue of public pressure and convienence.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Impacts of Cyber bullying
Cyber bullying occurs when new technologies such as computers and mobile phones are used to harass or bully somebody. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with problems associated with cyber bullying due to the lack of time I spend on the internet. If I am on the World Wide Web I am surfing the internet, I don’t use the web for the social aspect of it such as: Facebook, Myspace, or online chatting.
Cyber bullying has picked up steam in recent years, owing to the rise of sites like MySpace that make it simple to build nameless web pages that can be used to harrass others. But the definition of cyber bullying is actually broad enough to encompass all forms of electronic harassment, including text messaging, instant messaging, and e-mail. School officials do not have control over what students do outside of school, but, as the First Amendment states, even this issue is complicated. Students who threaten or harass other students using school equipment or during school time can be reported and in severe trouble, but even students who do such things from home face the possibility of severe consequences. The bottom line is that this is a tough issue to handle with a large grey area.
If I were to create a plan to help out with the problems we face with cyber bullying I would start off by raising student’s and parents’ awareness of what cyber bullying is and why it is so harmful. I would equip students with the skills and resources to treat each other respectfully when they use cyber technologies; and help students know how to get help if they, or others they know, are being cyber bullied. Lastly I would provide students with the skills to use cyber technologies in positive ways.
Cyber bullying has picked up steam in recent years, owing to the rise of sites like MySpace that make it simple to build nameless web pages that can be used to harrass others. But the definition of cyber bullying is actually broad enough to encompass all forms of electronic harassment, including text messaging, instant messaging, and e-mail. School officials do not have control over what students do outside of school, but, as the First Amendment states, even this issue is complicated. Students who threaten or harass other students using school equipment or during school time can be reported and in severe trouble, but even students who do such things from home face the possibility of severe consequences. The bottom line is that this is a tough issue to handle with a large grey area.
If I were to create a plan to help out with the problems we face with cyber bullying I would start off by raising student’s and parents’ awareness of what cyber bullying is and why it is so harmful. I would equip students with the skills and resources to treat each other respectfully when they use cyber technologies; and help students know how to get help if they, or others they know, are being cyber bullied. Lastly I would provide students with the skills to use cyber technologies in positive ways.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Googling Yourself...
I have googled myself in the past and had zero luck getting anything to come back that related to me, so once I did the same for this assignment I knew what to expect. To my excitement I found out that Scott Calhoun was a child molester with a few different quality offeneses check it out for yourself (http://search.criminalcheck.com/pddetails.php?db=CASX&rec=32691&ed=212&dlnumber=CC&dlstate=CC&id=CC). As I was searching for images on google, I didn’t come across any of myself until the 5th we page and somehow there was a picture of my fiance, Holly, and myself. I found this strange because I couldn’t locate where this picture had come from or who posted it on the world wide web. www.pipl.com was a very interesting site as well, this site is a great way to findbasic information about people and where they live, along with some basic background info on them.
Having parents that worked in the school system and then an older sister becoming a teacher as well, I was well aware of the exposure the internet can have on students and teachers. Being a role model means being a role model, you can’t be a model only while on school grounds. These actions away from the teaching profession also can become engraved in the brains of our youth through the interents capabilities (movies & photos). That’s why negative behavior are behavior you don’t want out, might become public which means YOUR students and staff will know about and these actions can cost you your job. Which is why being a good character person is so important to the teaching profession.
I do feel that teachers should be held accountable for their actions. That’s what us, as teachers are all about, leading by example. Its fine that teachers go out and have a drink, but teachers don’t need to blog about their wild Friday night nor do they need to post pictures witht them double fisting beer cans either. I do feel teachers do deserve some privacy and rights but they are our community leaders and need to be held at a higher standard then others within the community.
Wow, I was shocked that roughly 40% of MySpace users are 35 or older. I was stunned to find the older population using the computer, let alone socail networking pages. Thinking about it, I would guess that these people might be looking for a life long partner and are apart of the dating scene but at the sametime MySpace is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, too.
So there are a few things I am going to be aware of as I become closer to becoming a teacher . My personal life can and will impact my proffesional life, therefore, I will be careful with inexcusable behavior. I will also be causious about displaying photos and videos of my life as well as pictures posted of myself on other websites. This is a very rough subject because you may do everything in your power to protect yourself but a friend might post a picture that you don’t want the world to see which inturn may cost you your job. That’s why in a way I feel I should just stay away from the internet as a whole, but at the sametime I have nothing to hide and just need to be very careful in the future.
Having parents that worked in the school system and then an older sister becoming a teacher as well, I was well aware of the exposure the internet can have on students and teachers. Being a role model means being a role model, you can’t be a model only while on school grounds. These actions away from the teaching profession also can become engraved in the brains of our youth through the interents capabilities (movies & photos). That’s why negative behavior are behavior you don’t want out, might become public which means YOUR students and staff will know about and these actions can cost you your job. Which is why being a good character person is so important to the teaching profession.
I do feel that teachers should be held accountable for their actions. That’s what us, as teachers are all about, leading by example. Its fine that teachers go out and have a drink, but teachers don’t need to blog about their wild Friday night nor do they need to post pictures witht them double fisting beer cans either. I do feel teachers do deserve some privacy and rights but they are our community leaders and need to be held at a higher standard then others within the community.
Wow, I was shocked that roughly 40% of MySpace users are 35 or older. I was stunned to find the older population using the computer, let alone socail networking pages. Thinking about it, I would guess that these people might be looking for a life long partner and are apart of the dating scene but at the sametime MySpace is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, too.
So there are a few things I am going to be aware of as I become closer to becoming a teacher . My personal life can and will impact my proffesional life, therefore, I will be careful with inexcusable behavior. I will also be causious about displaying photos and videos of my life as well as pictures posted of myself on other websites. This is a very rough subject because you may do everything in your power to protect yourself but a friend might post a picture that you don’t want the world to see which inturn may cost you your job. That’s why in a way I feel I should just stay away from the internet as a whole, but at the sametime I have nothing to hide and just need to be very careful in the future.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
When talking about technology, I am a huge fan and love to stay up on the coolest and newest toys. However, with the prices of these objects running sky high I can only dream of having these cool toys. This goes for computers as well, I love surfing the web, cropping photos and downloading music. That is just about everything I enjoy about computers, I’m not a gamer nor do I like using facebook, myspace, or communicating through the computer unless its E-mail. Overall I wouldn’t say I am an alien to electronics and computers but I do feel maybe a little out of the loop when it comes to blogging and creating websites, but I have already learned a few things and am excited to see where this class takes me.
Marc Prensky states that, ‘today’s average college grads have spent less then 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 playing video games (not to mention happiness20,000 hours watching TV).’ Like I stated above, I’m not a gamer but I can relate to the fact that I spend six times as much time watching TV. than I do reading. This is terribly sad and I can only imagine how bad our youth is about reading. Believe it or not, I have never been involved with a computer class but my sisters helped me with computer knowledge concepts.
I graduated high school ten years ago, and times have changed. ‘Our children are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from our parents,’ according to Marc Prensky. This statement from Mr. Prensky is extremely true in so many ways. Communication is such a huge key in today’s society and there are millions of ways to communicate in today’s world these include: phones, texting, computers (in so many ways) where 15 years ago the only way to connect to others were through a single land phone with one single line.
The last quote I am going to comment on is from the Engage Me or Enrage Me article, ‘I can have nothing to do, and I’ll find something on the internet.’ So looking into the future I will try my best to incorporate some kind of technology in my classroom. My endorsement area is PE so it may be a challenge at times but I will make it mandatory in some way to use computers and technology within my student’s curriculum. It is so important and technology is only going to grow and grow. Soon enough every household will have a computer in it, making home phones obsolete. I also feel the expansion of technology is only going to give our youth a ton of more opportunities to succeed and will give them chances to discover things about themselves they never knew which is a positive in today’s world.
Marc Prensky states that, ‘today’s average college grads have spent less then 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 playing video games (not to mention happiness20,000 hours watching TV).’ Like I stated above, I’m not a gamer but I can relate to the fact that I spend six times as much time watching TV. than I do reading. This is terribly sad and I can only imagine how bad our youth is about reading. Believe it or not, I have never been involved with a computer class but my sisters helped me with computer knowledge concepts.
I graduated high school ten years ago, and times have changed. ‘Our children are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from our parents,’ according to Marc Prensky. This statement from Mr. Prensky is extremely true in so many ways. Communication is such a huge key in today’s society and there are millions of ways to communicate in today’s world these include: phones, texting, computers (in so many ways) where 15 years ago the only way to connect to others were through a single land phone with one single line.
The last quote I am going to comment on is from the Engage Me or Enrage Me article, ‘I can have nothing to do, and I’ll find something on the internet.’ So looking into the future I will try my best to incorporate some kind of technology in my classroom. My endorsement area is PE so it may be a challenge at times but I will make it mandatory in some way to use computers and technology within my student’s curriculum. It is so important and technology is only going to grow and grow. Soon enough every household will have a computer in it, making home phones obsolete. I also feel the expansion of technology is only going to give our youth a ton of more opportunities to succeed and will give them chances to discover things about themselves they never knew which is a positive in today’s world.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Introduction
My name is Scott Calhoun, I'll be turning 28 on July 26 (I will be accepting presents). My endorsement are is Physical Education and Health. My favorite animals are dogs because they are great pets and my dog is best friend.
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