Podcasts

What makes a great podcast?  That seems to be the main question.   In class we are beginning to learn about podcasts and will soon make one of our own.  To help us learn about them we were given about six different podcasts to go and listen to.  Some were for teachers and others were about new technology coming out soon. 

            Many of the podcasts had one main speaker and would then have 2-3 quests to discuss the day’s topic.  I enjoyed this type of podcast the most as long as the speakers would not interrupt each other.  When there are several speakers speaking at the same time it becomes very difficult to follow the conversation.   There was one podcast that had only one speaker and I did enjoy that one because it was easy to follow.  There was another podcast that had co-hosts and I did not like that podcast because they constantly interrupting each other.

            When it comes to learning I like to get straight to the topic and not beat around the bush.  Most of the podcasts had a few minutes of just talking in the beginning, which was fine for me.   Then there were some that took 5-8 minutes to finally even state the main topic and get the discussion going.  I also did not like how some the speakers would joke about things only they knew about, alienating their audience.

            I enjoyed listening to podcasts for the first time and I will definitely be listening to more for personal enjoyment.  Through the podcasts we were assigned I learned what made a good podcast that I would enjoy.  I like podcasts that are clear and easy to understand and do not have speakers talking over each other.  I also want a podcast that does a little talking but gets to the topic for the day quickly.  I look forward to learning even more about what makes a podcast great.  I think podcast will make a great companion to my classes one day.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis has some great ideas about how to teach her class.  I liked how she models how she is going to teach the class around the different skills and abilities of her students. She appeals to how they learn and what would makes them interested in learning.  I also enjoyed how she encouraged them to be thinkers and had them teach some of the subjects in class.  It was encouraging to hear from another teacher that teachers don’t have to know everything.

         The Digiteen and Flat Classroom Project were both very interesting. It was neat to see how she had connected her classroom to others around the world.  The ability to understand all this technology will help the students but so will the cultural education they are receiving.  I also agree with Vicki Davis that if we only teach using paper and pencil then only certain types of children are going to succeed.            

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

I really enjoyed the talk by Sir Ken Robinson.  He had some amazing points about not educating just the mind but the whole being.  People learn in different ways and should not be discriminated for doing so.  I liked the comparison made between strip-mining the earth and doing the same to students’ minds.   We should not be taking away from the children but enhancing them.

I also agree that the arts, such as painting, music and dance, are important to students.  They should not be pushed to the side for other subject matter.   Just like our lives have become video based information instead of reading, who is to say that in the future the arts aren’t more important than other subjects.  I completely agree that we are taught not to make mistakes and that in turn hinders our creativity.  Maybe bringing technology into the classrooms can help bring out the creativity in students as well as educate them in the “important subjects”. 

Did You Know 3.0 and Mr. Winkle Wakes Videos

Did You Know 3.0

The information and statistics in the 3.0 video really surprised me.  I knew the United Stated education program was lacking compared to China and India but I did not realize to what degree.   I also knew that a great amount of the technology we use every day was pretty new but I did not realize how far technology had come.  I did think it was neat to see how many people would get involved with the new technology so quickly.   I also never realized how many other things, like the English language, have also grown along with advances in science.

The last few statements about building computers as smart or smarter than humans was a bit concerning to me.  I enjoy all the benefits of technology but I don’t think I would ever want one smarter than me.  It is fascinating to watch science fiction movies on the topic of super smart computers and thinking that will happen long after I am gone.  But with technology advancing who says that couldn’t happen in the next years to come.  I only hope that I can keep up the technology!

Mr. Winkle Wakes

The first thing I thought about when watching this was what if someone really could come back from the past, like Benjamin Franklin, he would be shocked by all the technology we use everyday.  Most of the technology people just use and have no idea how it all works. Then like the 3.0 video showed people from the past did not have as much information as we have today. 

The video mentions the unchanging status of technology in schools .  For most schools they are stuck in the past with not enough funding to move forward.  Then some that do have the funding have teachers that are technologically scared and refuse to use things that would enhance their class. The video showed how important it is not to let our schools fall behind with technology and how teachers should be integrating it into their classrooms.

Welcome!

My name is Rachel Kinard.  I was born in Louisville, Kentucky and raised around that area until I was 11 and my family moved to Spanish Fort, Alabama.  From a young age I had a great love for animals and always wanted to be a veterinarian.   That is why I went to Auburn University.   But after one semester I realized 8 years of really tough classes was not for me.  So I decided to get a degree in zoology so I could still work with animals.  This degree would allow me to work with the more exotic animals that I really loved.  While getting my degree I volunteered at the Montgomery Zoo and worked mostly with the large cats.  I graduated from Auburn with my degree December 2008.

            In my last spring semester I went on a trip Ukraine to teach English as a Second Language during my Spring Break. I loved the experience and I really loved the teaching.  So after that I really felt that I should be a teacher and began to pursue the possibilities.  My family is from Baldwin Country so I looked for a good school that was close by and found the University of South Alabama.  Since I already have a science degree I only need my teaching courses and I will have my Secondary Education Science degree.

            One of my passions is traveling.  I have been very fortunate that I have gotten to travel to many different places. I have been on some trips touring countries in Europe but I have also been on service trips. I spent two of my college summers in Great Britain and India teaching and doing mission work. I also spent last semester living in Ukraine doing more ESL work. I one day want to be able to teach overseas.