Journal 2 The Laptops are Coming!

McFarlane, Sarah Heller (Summer 08). The Laptops Are Comming. Rethinking Schools Online, 22 No.4, from

Author Sarah McFarlane writes about the invasion of laptops in her Seattle Washington School. Each secondary student in McFarlane’s district would be given a laptop for all the time use as a part of a $149.5 million technology levy. The district was looking to prepare their students for the 21st century by ensuring each student is comfortable with technology. McFarlane’s initial excitement soon changed to fear as she watched the dynamics of her classroom change. At first McFarlane was excited about a classroom webpage, power point presentations and better communication with families. Before she knew it she was keeping up with written and unwritten expectations such as online grades, online attendance, use of e-mail, and substitute request program. The problem was McFarlane was spending a lot of time in front of her computer while students were in the classroom. This was decreasing the face-to-face teaching that is important to developing a critical analysis thought process, development of social skills and improvement of speech. Students were less patient during class discussions often turning to their laptops quietly to search the web or play games. McFarlane become suspicious of her students and if they were really doing work in class, she found herself using a administrative tool to spy on student computers. The classroom soon became a quite room filled with the clicking of keyboards instead of the chatter of children’s voices.
Question #1: Through my experience complete submersion is usually how you drown. Could the district come up with a better way to easy technology into the classroom?
Answer: I think sometimes education is an all or nothing environment. Change is always hard and when big changes come around it’s usually not done right the first time around. I think some of the mistakes were not thinking about the students and the teachers who are not as comfortable with technology. How does this affect their learning? I believe that there are many benefits to technology in the classroom but face-to-face learning is irreplaceable if we want to live in a social society as well.
Question #2 What are the social impacts of laptops in the classroom?
Answer: I am not against technology in the classroom or taking on the responsibility of preparing students for the 21st century. I think school also provides an invaluable resource for socialization. With texting and im messaging face-to-face communication is becoming more infrequent in today’s youth. I believe school is more than gathering information and spitting it out,; there is a large social component that can be taken away with too much technology. Everything in moderation.

Journal 4 Animoto Web 2.0

I was looking around at the different topics in classroom 2.0. I clicked on photo sharing and found a great site called Animoto. Once I clicked on the site I got caught up trying to make my own video. Basically the concept is that you upload your own videos and music or music from their library and it will put it together in a really cool slide show collage. These videos are 30sec long, you do have to pay a fee to make a longer one but if you e-mail animoto and tell them you are an educator they will give you a password so you can use it for free. Some of the complains about Animoto were it lacks the ability to be creative. Although this is true it still can be such a good tool to get students excited about school projects. I made a couple of short films from pictures I had on my computer and uploaded them right to blogger. The film was automatically embedded in my blog. It is very easy to use and I think it could be used in any subject area. Although it does lack a creative side it can push the student to find ways to get creative with their pictures and music. I have not tried the extended version because I do not want to pay for it but I think this is something students could be really excited about. All the feedback was pretty positive from other educators who are using this program. I thought I was going to follow my subject and get the journal out of the way but Animoto had me consumed for about 40 min. you guys should check it out.

Animoto

Animoto

Introduction to Jamie Reeder

My name is Jamie Reeder, I was born and raised in San Diego County. I went through the Temecula Valley school system and graduated from Temecula Valley High. After high school I moved around with in California. I did some schooling in Chico from there I went to Sacramento. Once I became serious about my education I came back to San Diego and finished my general education at Palomar and Mira Costa. I graduated from CSUSM in the fall of 07 and I am working on my prereqs this summer.
My experience with technology is intermediate. I know my way around various programs. I guess my technical abilities suit my needs. I can create PowerPoint, type proficiently, e-mail..the basics. I am excited about this class because I am a new owner of a Mac! So this will help me know my computer at home more proficiently. I am defiantly not scared of technology, it can be intimidating but I enjoy trying to figure it out (most of the time). I am the "computer person" in the house, which is kind of scary. I'm usually able to figure it out if I don't know the answers right off. I use my e-mail daily but my primary exposure to technology has just been the necessities for school, communication, music and entertainment.
The mission statement does actually speak to me very clearly. I did not always want to be an educator. Every person on my Mom's side of the family is an educator; I mean cousins, aunts, grandparents, and cousin’s grandparents. The list is ridicules. I resisted teaching because it seemed expected of me. If I had just listened to my family I would most likely already be teaching. I had to find my own path and I am excited about where it has lead me. It was during my senior year at CSUSM that I really began to consider education. I have taken many courses in diversity, women's studies, and theory of whiteness and not to sound like a ranting feminist but I became a ranting feminist. There is so much inequality in the world that I believe educators are in a unique position to be influential advocates of change. The mission statement talks about innovative research, ongoing learning, educational equity and these are things I want to be apart of. I want to be a strong influence in changing the way people look at the world even if it is one classroom at a time.