Why wireless, I'll tell you

This is 2009 that should be enough of an answer, without flying cars the least we should be able to do is get onto the internet wherever we want and it should be used to the full extent of its ability. The uses allow freedom to anyone within range and how dose not like to have a class outside from time to time though I'm sure they are not doing that in high schools much. Either way the choice should be a simple one for why to have wireless and its simply, why not.

When students can have another way of connecting with teachers and each other and the material in a way that more and more children are becoming comfortable with why not try and introduce it to schools. The ability to check assignments and grades as well as any school events coming up would make life that much easier on an already hectic school schedule.

English teachers would be able to tell the class to pull up an article from a journal database and instead of having just some book in front of them the kids can see an actual scholarly publication. Science teachers can load groundbreaking reports for students to see where the world is heading and how what they are learning in class is being used outside the walls to change the world.

Many people react better to learning when they can see the results and that is sometimes hard for some teachers, but with the option to bring new information into the classroom they have a better chance of influencing those students. Group projects become easier to collaborate on since the participants could have access to items like Google docs and be able to make comments to each other on how they feel the project should go. the interaction of student with student in a more comfortable is what the world will be demanding of them when the attain "real" jobs in a world where most business correspond through the same kind of means they will be taught.
So not only why not wireless but almost, we have little choice but wireless.

Prior Student Podcasts

The first podcast that I listened to was about youtube and from the very beginning I felt it was off to a bad start. One of the first things people learn when talking to a group or anyone for that matter is to not use the word "umm" of "uhh". There were far to many instances in this particular podcast for me to be able to tolerate it for much longer than was required.
However the information itself was fine, the students at some points seemed to forget what they were talking about but one of the others would jump into the conversation to bail them out. The parts where they began to get into it and have more of a conversation were much better. The podcasts that I listen to are formatted in that way making it much easier to listen and retain information from. Taken from this podcast is to have what I want to talk about laid out in front of me at the time and to be able to have a conversation about it with whomever I am to do the podcast with.

The second podcast was talking about ALEX and ACCESS and was quite well done. Both students had plenty of information on the subjects and were able to get that information across without being terribly dull which can be tricky on not so upbeat subjects. Though they did not converse in the conversation style that I previously said I liked they almost never faltered and kept a steady rate of speech with few mistakes keeping my attention.
The only real falter is that one of the students sounded scared to death while she was talking. I understand that some people are shy and that this was a miserable assignment for them but if someone is going to do a podcast or speak to people in anyway they need to get over that shyness and fear. Again in this podcast I harden my thought that when my time comes to have the information at hand and to give the information straight out though hopefully I will be able to have a subject that allows for me and my group to be more upbeat.

Podcast

First off I love podcasts. More often than not I have one playing in my car anywhere I go, they tend to be filled with information and give you said information quickly and to the point. The podcasts for this assignment are naturally about education and tech and how they work together. Normally podcasts are formatted in a way that makes the listener feel as if they are in a conversation with the podcaster more so than getting a lecture.

At first I listened to the smartboard podcast and was impressed with the way it was presented though I wish they could get rid of the echo. The great part about their idea was to bring teachers and parents together with oneanother. Much like what we have read about ALEX and ACCESS this to is a new frontier of bridging the gap between classrooms and homes. Anything that brings teachers together to learn from one another and also allows parents tha sccesability to the information has my seal of approval.

Some classrooms may even decide to use podcasts in there lesson plans to bring other views and even ways of teaching into the class to give the students more variety and would increace their learning potential. I also enjoyed the Kidcast. Brilliant! Students talking to eah other and even teachers being able to see the students side of the learning expierence. This site puts the kids in charge and allows for them to post their own posts and that creates a doorway into their world that is wide open for parents and teachers alike.

One podcast that I listen to is 60 second science and though not an educational site it is a science based site. I was actually introduced to this from another teacher. The podcast has short snipits of new and up coming scientific information and breakthroughs. The podcast is not as interactive as the others such as Smartboard but since the entire thing is only 60 seconds the information does not need to be given in such a personal way.

Marisa L. Dudiak's second-grade class from Frederick County, Md. were told to sign on to their classroom Web log to write about their field trip to a Native American farm.They wrote about what they learned from using the bow and arrow,playing in a tepee and seeing a buffalo. Though the quality of the writings were still of a second grade level, there was a greater responce from the whole class. even the quiet children wrote out their take on the trip coming alive more so on the blog than in calss.



Mr. C's class at Noel Elementry school in Missouri. Mr. C posts numerious videos up on the site andhas the students make comments on them. The site brings parents into the lives of students more by allowing them to see what is going on in their childrens lives. The site has links to other items such as writing assignments, class itenerary.