Wikipedia

Wikipedia seems to be the most popular source to go to for information. While some information may be correct, other information may not have been checked for accuracy. According to NPR, "It isn't illegal. The whole point of the online encyclopedia is that it is collaborative and multi-sourced. Wikipedia calls itself "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," which is another way of saying it is not fact-checked."
While in highschool, I always believed Wikipedia to be a trustworthy and reliable source. However, when I reached college, I found out from many of my professors didnt like Wikipedia as a source because of its easiness to alter without checking to see if the facts were true. I do not use it as a source now, nor will I allow my future students to use it in my assignments.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I enjoyed Randy's theory on the Brick walls. We all have so many "brick walls" in our lives that we have to learn how to overcome them. Whatever way we choose to overcome these walls defines our character. Pausch says that these walls are there to make you find out how bad you want whatever it is. This is very true. We sometimes take things for granted that we do not have to work for, but these walls make us realize just how bad we want some thing. When we have to work for something, we never take it for granted.
One of my favorite parts of the lecture was his comment about Moses. He said that like Moses he would only see the Promise Land, not set foot in it, but that was OK because at least he would get to see it. He was talking about the legacy he was leaving in all the students he had taught and all the programs he had started and built.
One part that made the lecture personal was when he brought out a cake for his wife's birthday. This was part of his thinking of others and not hisself. In the midst of a lecture, cancer, and chemo he was still thinking of ways to make his wife smile. Another way that made the lecture so personal was when he asked if we had figured out that this lecture wasn't for us after all. It was really for his three children. This put a whole different level of emotion in the lecture for me.

Fall '08 Podcast Review

The first podcast I listened to was "Blogging and Teaching". It was a good podcast, but there were some areas that I would suggest imporvements on. The first problem I noticed was that the word "um" was used too often. I view this word as a filler in conversations, and when a conversation should be organized and planned, there should be no need for filler words such as "um". I feel a way to keep this word from being used is to practice the dialogue more often. The use of this word made the podcast feel unprofessional. The second issue I noticed was that the females seemed to do more of the talking. As natural as this sounds, the females should have asked the male more questions to get him more involved in the conversation.

The second podcast I listened to was "How Technology is used in the Classes at South Alabama". The main issue that should have been corrected was the lack of conversation. In my opinion, in order for the podcast to be entertaining, it should hold a conversation where all of them members are involved.

All About Me

Podcasts

The first podcast I explored was EdTechtalk #92. This was very easy to lisen to because the podcast was right on the page for easy listening. I liked this one because it was very upbeat and sounded like a radio talkshow. The hosts had a special guest named Liz Davis who was a head person in an independent school. The hosts asked her about her self and what accomplishes her school has made over the years. I really enjoyed listening to this podcast.

The next podcast I explored was This Week In Photograpy. I loved this one! It was very visual and supplied pictures and a step by step process that was easy to follow. The basic principle was to learn how to brighten up pictures by using Photoshop. I liked listening to this one because mom loves photography and taking her own pictures, so I was able to show her what I learned from this podcast.

The final podcast I listened to was SmartBoard Lessons Podcast. This was not that interesting to me. It was in a conversation manner between two people. I guess i was not interested in the subject but if I was, they did a good job explaining smart boards.

Throughout this assignment, I was enlightened by each podcast. I feel that podcasts are a great way to provide information on a particular topic and should be used more often.

Blogs used in the classrooms part 2

The second website I found which deals with classrooms using blogs is a college classroom where the doctor has chosen to use blogging to reach her students. Dr. Blackmon says that she uses blogs because "students get the opportunity to write about the texts that we read and to see and respond to what others in the class are writing". She has links to other classes of the same subject and also several links to various helpful sites. The blog can be accessed by clicking here: Dr. B's Blog


As I researched blogs used in the classrooms, I also found blogs that were used in schools outside of the United States. The first international school blog that I found was created for the Traill International School. The blog is a place for students and teachers to share their work and achievements. This blog has useful websites listed, photos from the classroom, and archives to look through for past information. To visit this blog, please visit the following link: The All New Traill Blog Campus Site


The second international classroom blog I found was for the International School of Bangkok. This blog has several different locations within the site which discuss everything from the schools mission statement to class times and alumni information. I believe that this blog does a very good job at creating an easy way to learn about the school itself. To visit this site, please click the following link:
ISB site

Blogs used in the classrooms part 1

The first classroom blog that I found was from right here in Alabama. It is a senior English class from Springville, Alabama. Ms. Caldwell, the english teacher, requires her students to post two comments on the blog each week which are relevant to their current topics and/or their assignments. You can find this classblog at the following site: CLICK HERE