Week 7

While reading though the article "Theories and Practices," I laughed a little bit.  I read to my nephew all the time, and after reading this article I started to think about all the different modes that go into those books. I noticed that he was more interested in books that were more colorful, and had different fonts through out the story.  He also was more interactive with books that had colors in the words and then would find them throughout the pages.  I'm not sure if this is what the author intended to do while he was writing them all, but it's something that I've noticed really attracts young readers.

As I started to read through the Second Life article, the first page immediately grabbed my attention. It's true, and I will admit, that I feel like I do better in face to face classes compared to strictly online classes.  This has nothing to do with the teacher or the way the class is taught, but just how I am. I am easily distracted, the internet is right there at my finger tips. In my own case, it also comes down to what I am also doing at home at the time. I often start my assignments and then have them saved as drafts and I think "oh, I can come back to it after I do laundry/finish dinner/clean" but I don't till the next week, and then I find I am behind, and then my grades suffer because of it. I think using a program that allows me to have to be more interactive with students (or perhaps just needing to be on the computer at a set time to do work with my peers) would improve my work being presented when it is supposed to.

Week 6

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/35963996/Tomorrownottoday.htm

I would ask my students to read this article so they understand how technology and social medias have progressed. Granted, this article was written in 2008, it still shows students how the digital world is ever changing. I'm sure that many of them will be able to relate to the very first page with Sarah and her friend. Students now don't live in a time where they could only be on the phone or online, not both. It's also shows that with online identities you have to be careful with who you talk to, and what you trust to be true. In the article it says "on the Internet, no one knows you're a dog," I find that to be a very powerful statement, and would hope that they would as well.

I enjoyed the article on Social Networking, and how they have been added into classrooms. I have previous experience with Edmodo, and I too really like as an interface for students. I am a fan of the control that a teacher has over the classroom, and how easy it is for students to really get around on it because of its Facebook like qualities.

I liked how the article on confidence and pedagogical practice of new literacies shows just how ICTs are beneficial to a classroom. I also liked how the proficiency of the ICTs was surveyed in 32 schools so that the information that is being given is accurately portraying multiple teachers in different teaching enviornments

Week 5

I started the teacher quest, and I found myself rather captivated by it. I know that a lot of my student take breaks during their lessons and will either try to find a way to hack through the firewalls to get onto Facebook, listen to music and try to nap, or play games. With this site, I think they would be more engaged to continue with their lessons. I found the game itself, (at least in the teacher's quest), to be very similar to that of Mario Brothers.
I read through Kevin Hodgson's article on using storyboarding. Students are such quick learners that they want do always want to jump to the project if it involves a computer, but don't have an idea of what they want to do. I like Hodgson's idea of having the students check in with the teacher to make sure that they are on task and are developing their ideas well.

I personally think that allowing educational games is fine in a classroom. If they have been checked out, then I don't see the problem with incorporating them. I know that Connected Foundations uses a similar idea where students have to complete quests, and they receive badges once they finish. I think it is beneficial for students to have these types of rewards so they are encouraged to continue.