Okay, seriously.... it is getting to the point where my tool box is FULL. I pretty much would implode if I did not have a MAC with a keychain to remember my passwords and screen names. I mean, it is great to have all these tools, but trying remember all this I end up having to request my screen name or my password on a pretty regular basis. I have finally come up with a screen name that I can normally count on getting. I went through a few....Daver is normally not available.....Burritoman was my first incarnation...then I had Bratwurstboy for a while.... now I have so many different email accounts that I can not find where my screen name or pass word is being sent to. I have all my mail from my MSU account forwarded to my U of M account, but I no longer remember how to change my settings on my MSU account. I can not even get into my eastern michigan account. I have a hotmail account that I have not been since U of M started a webmail server. I use to use telnet, but I think the webmail is better. Anyway, as an environmentalist I wonder what kind of consequences my online actions are having. Liz was telling us that all internet stuff was being archived, I wonder what it takes to archive all this information....how often are they upgraded? It reminds me of a great article I read.
Where Old Computers go to Die....and Kill!!! Below is an excerpt from the article if you would like to read it just search the title in google.
Daver
Where computers go to die -- and kill
More than 50 percent of our recycled computers are shipped overseas, where their toxic components are polluting poor communities. Meanwhile, U.S. laws are a mess, and industry and Congress are resisting efforts to stem "the effluent of the affluent."
April 10, 2006 | A parade of trucks piled with worn-out computers and electronic equipment pulls away from container ships docked at the port of Taizhou in the Zhejiang Province of southeastern China. A short distance inland, the trucks dump their loads in what looks like an enormous parking lot. Pools of dark oily liquid seep from under the mounds of junked machinery. The equipment comes mostly from the United States, Europe and Japan.
For years, developed countries have been exporting tons of electronic waste to China for inexpensive, labor-intensive recycling and disposal. Since 2000, it's been illegal to import electronic waste into China for this kind of environmentally unsound recycling. But tons of debris are smuggled in with legitimate imports, corruption is common among local officials, and China's appetite for scrap is so enormous that the shipments just keep on coming.
In Taizhou's outdoor workshops, people bang apart the computers and toss bits of metal into brick furnaces that look like chimneys. Split open, the electronics release a stew of toxic materials -- among them beryllium, cadmium, lead, mercury and flame retardants -- that can accumulate in human blood and disrupt the body's hormonal balance. Exposed to heat or allowed to degrade, electronics' plastics can break down into organic pollutants that cause a host of health problems, including cancer. Wearing no protective clothing, workers roast circuit boards in big, uncovered woklike pans to melt plastics and collect valuable metals. Other workers sluice open basins of acid over semiconductors to remove their gold, tossing the waste into nearby streams. Typical wages for this work are about $2 to $4 a day.
Jim Puckett, director of Basel Action Network, an environmental advocacy organization that tracks hazardous waste, filmed these Dickensian scenes in 2004. "The volume of junk was amazing," he says. "It was arriving 24 hours a day and there was so much scrap that one truck was loaded every two minutes." Nothing has changed in two years. "China is still getting the stuff," Puckett tells me in March 2006. In fact, he says, the trend in China now is "to push the ugly stuff out of sight into the rural areas."
The conditions in Taizhou are particularly distressing to Puckett because they underscore what he sees as a persistent failure by the U.S. federal government to stop the dumping of millions of used computers, TVs, cellphones and other electronics in the world's developing regions, including those in China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Eastern Europe and Africa.
Because high-tech electronics contain hundreds of materials packed into small spaces, they are difficult and expensive to recycle. Eager to minimize costs and maximize profits, many recyclers ship large quantities of used electronics to countries where labor is cheap and environmental regulations lax. U.S. recyclers and watchdog groups like Basel Action Network estimate that 50 percent or more of the United States' used computers, cellphones and TVs sent to recyclers are shipped overseas for recycling to places like Taizhou or Lagos, Nigeria, as permitted by federal law. But much of this obsolete equipment ends up as toxic waste, with hazardous components exposed, burned or allowed to degrade in landfills.
BAN first called widespread attention to the problem in 2002, when it released "Exporting Harm," a documentary that revealed the appalling damage caused by electronic waste in China. In the southern Chinese village of Guiyu, many of the workers who dismantle high-tech electronics live only steps from their jobs. Their children wander over piles of burnt wires and splash in puddles by the banks of rivers that have become dumping grounds for discarded computer parts. The pollution has been so severe that Guiyu's water supply has been undrinkable since the mid-'90s. Water samples taken in 2005 found levels of lead and other metals 400 to 600 times what international standards consider safe.
In the summer of 2005, Puckett investigated Lagos, another port bursting with what he calls the "effluent of the affluent." "It appears that about 500 loads of computer equipment are arriving in Lagos each month," he says. Ostensibly sent for resale in Nigeria's rapidly growing market for high-tech electronics, as much as 75 percent of the incoming equipment is unusable, Puckett discovered. As a result, huge quantities are simply dumped.
Photographs taken by BAN in Lagos show scrapped electronics lying in wetlands, along roadsides, being examined by curious children and burning in uncontained landfills. Seared, broken monitors and CPUs are nestled in weeds, serving as perches for lizards, chickens and goats. One mound of computer junk towers at least 6 feet high. Puckett found identification tags showing that some of the junked equipment originally belonged to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Kansas Department of Aging, the State of Massachusetts, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the City of Houston, school districts, hospitals, banks and numerous businesses, including IBM and Intel.
Under the Basel Convention, an international agreement designed to curtail trade in hazardous waste, none of this dumping should be happening. Leaded CRT glass, mercury switches, parts containing heavy metals, and other elements of computer scrap are considered hazardous waste under Basel and cannot be exported for disposal. Electronics can be exported for reuse, repair and -- under certain conditions -- recycling, creating a gray area into which millions of tons of obsolete electronics have fallen.
The U.S. is the only industrialized nation not to have ratified the Basel Convention, which would prevent it from trading in hazardous waste. The U.S. also has no federal laws that prohibit the export of toxic e-waste, nor has the U.S. signed the Basel Ban, a 1995 amendment to the convention that prohibits export of hazardous waste from Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development member countries to non-OECD countries -- essentially from wealthy to poorer nations. While this policy is intended to spur reuse and recycling, it also makes it difficult to curtail the kind of shipments BAN found in Lagos.
Despite a growing awareness of e-waste's hazards, the U.S. government, says Puckett, has done nothing in the past several years to stem the flow of e-trash. Given the Bush administration's reluctance to enact or support regulations that interfere with what it considers free trade and the difficulty of monitoring e-waste exports, the shipments continue. "Follow the material, and you'll find the vast majority of e-waste is still going overseas," says Robert Houghton, president of Redemtech Inc., a company that handles electronics recycling for a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Kaiser Permanente. As Puckett says, "Exploiting low-wage countries as a dumping ground is winning the day."
Friday, December 7, 2007
My Lesson Plan Using Claymation
Tuesday October 23, 2007
Michigan Science Benchmark for Cells page 8 of Michigan Curriculum Framework Science Content Benchmarks Summer, 2000 from www.michigan.gov/documents/Updated_Science_Benchmarks_27030_7.pdf
This is what we have worked towards for the past two weeks in chapter 7.
Cells (LC) III.1
All students will apply an understanding of cells to the functioning of multicellular organisms, including how cells grow, develop and reproduce:
1. Demonstrate evidence that all parts of living things
are made of cells.
Key concepts: Types of living things: plants,
animals; parts of organisms: tissues, organs, organ
systems; all functions of organisms are carried out by
cells. See LC-III.1 m.2 for specific functions.
Tools: Hand lens, microscope.
Real-world contexts: Common plant or animal cells:
Elodea leaf cells, onion skin cells, human cheek cells.
Single-celled organisms: Paramecium.
2. Explain why and how selected specialized cells are
needed by plants and animals.
Key concepts: Specialized functions of cells—
reproduction, photosynthesis, transport, movement,
disease-fighting. See LO m.4 (systems and processes
functioning to provide/remove materials to/from
cells).
Real-world contexts: Specialized animal cells: red
blood cells, white blood cells, muscle cells, bone
cells, nerve cells, egg/sperm cells; specialized plant
cells—root cells, leaf cells, stem cells.
1. Explain how multicellular organisms grow, based on
how cells grow and reproduce.
Key concepts: Specialized functions of cells—
respiration (see LO h.3), protein synthesis, mitosis,
meiosis (see LH-III.3 h.2). Basic molecules for cell
growth—simple sugars, amino acids, fatty acids.
Basic chemicals, molecules and atoms—water,
minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and lipids,
nucleic acids; carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen.
Cells come only from other cells. See LO m.4
(digestion).
Real-world contexts: The growth of plants and
animals.
2. Compare and contrast ways in which selected cells
are specialized to carry out particular life functions.
Key concepts: Classifications of organisms by cell
type—plant, animal, bacteria; selected specialized
plant and animal cells—red blood cells, white blood
cells, muscle cells, nerve cells, root cells, leaf cells,
stem cells; cell parts used for classification —
organelle, nucleus, cell wall, cell membrane;
specialized functions — reproduction (see LC-III.1
h.1, LH-III.3 h.2), photosynthesis (see LO m.3),
transport; cell shape.
Tools: microscopes
Real-world contexts: Reproduction, growth,
response, movement, etc. of animals and plants.
Functions of bacteria.
ISTE ED TECH Standard
Technology Operations and Concepts
Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
c. troubleshoot systems and applications.
d. transfer new and current knowledge to new technologies
Learning Performances: Identify the different stages of the cell cycle. Describe what happens to cellular genetic material during interphase and mitosis. Explain growth and the role mitosis plays. Give an example of cells that go through mitosis. Compare mitosis to unregulated cell growth.
Establishing purpose: Students have learned about cell structure and specialization. They can apply characteristics of life to infer if something is living. Students can recall cell theory. Now they need explain reproduction and growth of cells with regards to all life and the importance of these processes.
Materials: Projector and laptop, powerpoint, handout (worksheets from chap 8 in book, sec 8.2 pg 35 and sec 8.3 pg 36
Instructional strategies: Lecture, worksheet activity, video presentation
Time required: 5 minutes WDYK, 20 minute lecture, 5 minute video presentations, 5 minutes questions, 25 minutes worksheets
Cautions: Boring nature of material, must keep it interesting and class moving
Sources: Text book, Web videos, Mitosis Claymation
Instructional sequence: Lecture, presentations, worksheets
Objective:
I also borrowed this from a former MAC student, but to further drive home that Mitosis happens through a sequence, so often students think it is just 4 stages, but have no idea there are in between things happening and we just label stages to increase our understanding.
The lesson went really well, but ended up being a two day lesson to really finish it off. Here was the final part of the assignment. It was a mitosis flip book. I did not have cameras for students to shoot their own clay animation, so they made a book that they could flip to see the process.
Michigan Science Benchmark for Cells page 8 of Michigan Curriculum Framework Science Content Benchmarks Summer, 2000 from www.michigan.gov/documents/Updated_Science_Benchmarks_27030_7.pdf
This is what we have worked towards for the past two weeks in chapter 7.
Cells (LC) III.1
All students will apply an understanding of cells to the functioning of multicellular organisms, including how cells grow, develop and reproduce:
1. Demonstrate evidence that all parts of living things
are made of cells.
Key concepts: Types of living things: plants,
animals; parts of organisms: tissues, organs, organ
systems; all functions of organisms are carried out by
cells. See LC-III.1 m.2 for specific functions.
Tools: Hand lens, microscope.
Real-world contexts: Common plant or animal cells:
Elodea leaf cells, onion skin cells, human cheek cells.
Single-celled organisms: Paramecium.
2. Explain why and how selected specialized cells are
needed by plants and animals.
Key concepts: Specialized functions of cells—
reproduction, photosynthesis, transport, movement,
disease-fighting. See LO m.4 (systems and processes
functioning to provide/remove materials to/from
cells).
Real-world contexts: Specialized animal cells: red
blood cells, white blood cells, muscle cells, bone
cells, nerve cells, egg/sperm cells; specialized plant
cells—root cells, leaf cells, stem cells.
1. Explain how multicellular organisms grow, based on
how cells grow and reproduce.
Key concepts: Specialized functions of cells—
respiration (see LO h.3), protein synthesis, mitosis,
meiosis (see LH-III.3 h.2). Basic molecules for cell
growth—simple sugars, amino acids, fatty acids.
Basic chemicals, molecules and atoms—water,
minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and lipids,
nucleic acids; carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen.
Cells come only from other cells. See LO m.4
(digestion).
Real-world contexts: The growth of plants and
animals.
2. Compare and contrast ways in which selected cells
are specialized to carry out particular life functions.
Key concepts: Classifications of organisms by cell
type—plant, animal, bacteria; selected specialized
plant and animal cells—red blood cells, white blood
cells, muscle cells, nerve cells, root cells, leaf cells,
stem cells; cell parts used for classification —
organelle, nucleus, cell wall, cell membrane;
specialized functions — reproduction (see LC-III.1
h.1, LH-III.3 h.2), photosynthesis (see LO m.3),
transport; cell shape.
Tools: microscopes
Real-world contexts: Reproduction, growth,
response, movement, etc. of animals and plants.
Functions of bacteria.
ISTE ED TECH Standard
Technology Operations and Concepts
Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
c. troubleshoot systems and applications.
d. transfer new and current knowledge to new technologies
Learning Performances: Identify the different stages of the cell cycle. Describe what happens to cellular genetic material during interphase and mitosis. Explain growth and the role mitosis plays. Give an example of cells that go through mitosis. Compare mitosis to unregulated cell growth.
Establishing purpose: Students have learned about cell structure and specialization. They can apply characteristics of life to infer if something is living. Students can recall cell theory. Now they need explain reproduction and growth of cells with regards to all life and the importance of these processes.
Materials: Projector and laptop, powerpoint, handout (worksheets from chap 8 in book, sec 8.2 pg 35 and sec 8.3 pg 36
Instructional strategies: Lecture, worksheet activity, video presentation
Time required: 5 minutes WDYK, 20 minute lecture, 5 minute video presentations, 5 minutes questions, 25 minutes worksheets
Cautions: Boring nature of material, must keep it interesting and class moving
Sources: Text book, Web videos, Mitosis Claymation
Instructional sequence: Lecture, presentations, worksheets
Objective:
I also borrowed this from a former MAC student, but to further drive home that Mitosis happens through a sequence, so often students think it is just 4 stages, but have no idea there are in between things happening and we just label stages to increase our understanding.
The lesson went really well, but ended up being a two day lesson to really finish it off. Here was the final part of the assignment. It was a mitosis flip book. I did not have cameras for students to shoot their own clay animation, so they made a book that they could flip to see the process.
Friday, November 2, 2007
My Claymation Project
This was pretty fun all in all, if not frustrating at times. I am happy with the over all product. Although Jordan copied us.
talk to you soon,
daver
Monday, October 29, 2007
Guess what?
Today I logged on to my blog and found this message "I am a total tool for not logging out of a public computer. Maybe I'll learn some day." I am thinking that this is a result of my borrowed lap top's battery dying during the Friday Tech session. It actually feels like I have been violated. To have someone in my Blog posting as me. I did not think that when the computer died it would keep open access to this. It is strange, because even today when I went to post on this site myself I had to RE-ENTER my password, wonder why that did not have to happen with the borrowed PC.
Using the PC was a HUGE pain. I could not believe how many times it crashed and for the life of me I could not post my project from the PC I had to save it to my flash stick and post it from my MAC later.
I am back to being a luddite.
Using the PC was a HUGE pain. I could not believe how many times it crashed and for the life of me I could not post my project from the PC I had to save it to my flash stick and post it from my MAC later.
I am back to being a luddite.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Trial of slideshare.net
Okay, so I am trying some new technologies. One would be www.slideshow.net the other two are new uses for powerpoint. I will discuss these more after I see if this works for me. This first one is a kiosk powerpoint presentation. I have always wondered how to make jeopardy games, in the past I have downloaded other peoples games and by trial and error just changed their slides. This is great knowing how to actually make my own kiosk project. My mentor teacher also wanted me to get him up to speed on how to make a jeopardy game because he was doing the same thing.
There will be other ways to use the technology as well, I could easily envision more interactive activities with power point kiosk if I had a one on one computer ratio for my classroom. Although, I think directed instruction is still invaluable. I could see the possibility for a great test review made through kiosk.
Flip book could also be very useful. In fact I used the mitosis powerpoint from a previous MACER to show the process of mitosis. I was tempted to take off the slide changes though, because it moved so fast I could not describe everything that was happening fast enough. Guess that is what they mean by a picture being worth a thousand words.
Many thanks Liz for leading the workshop. I know I was not scheduled to be there, but it was helpful.
daver
Here is my flipbook
There will be other ways to use the technology as well, I could easily envision more interactive activities with power point kiosk if I had a one on one computer ratio for my classroom. Although, I think directed instruction is still invaluable. I could see the possibility for a great test review made through kiosk.
Flip book could also be very useful. In fact I used the mitosis powerpoint from a previous MACER to show the process of mitosis. I was tempted to take off the slide changes though, because it moved so fast I could not describe everything that was happening fast enough. Guess that is what they mean by a picture being worth a thousand words.
Many thanks Liz for leading the workshop. I know I was not scheduled to be there, but it was helpful.
daver
Here is my flipbook
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Social Networking
I attended the Point/Counter Point a while back on social networking. Right after their presentation I went into my myspace and made it all only viewable to my friends. It is interesting to think about the implications of these networks and how others view you. It makes me think about the different personalities that we present for different situations. I mean, I am still me when I go over to my inlaw's for dinner, but it is not the "same" me that goes over to a friends place for dinner. Or perhaps this is an every better and more related example. My mentor teacher is great. When I met him, he was very laid back and just one of the guys with a bunch of the other teachers at my placement school. Then the first day of school started, I thought to myself, "wow, who is this guy?"
I knew that I had to have a different face for teaching, but I still have not found the one I am most comfortable with. It has to be me, but modified. So I can see how myspace and other social networks could be potentially damaging. It is strange that we do not think of professionals as having a life. When I think back to my teachers growing up, I never really put much thought into their outside life. I do remember most teachers having one or two hobbies they would be willing to share, but the rest they kept pretty personal. I wonder if that is a strategy??
well, It is saturday and i need to get to the farmers market... but this is something I will continue to think about. Let me know what you think or if you have further insight.
I knew that I had to have a different face for teaching, but I still have not found the one I am most comfortable with. It has to be me, but modified. So I can see how myspace and other social networks could be potentially damaging. It is strange that we do not think of professionals as having a life. When I think back to my teachers growing up, I never really put much thought into their outside life. I do remember most teachers having one or two hobbies they would be willing to share, but the rest they kept pretty personal. I wonder if that is a strategy??
well, It is saturday and i need to get to the farmers market... but this is something I will continue to think about. Let me know what you think or if you have further insight.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Confessions of a Video Game Addict
Hey all, some of you were interested in Tom's video. He has posted it on his blogg, but I offered to put it up on my blogg as well. So here it is
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
for your consideration
Hello friends,
I just had a few minutes to do some extra calculations. This is what I came up with. I spend about 21 hours a week in class in the School of Education. So I figure that we have about 16 weeks of total class from August 27 until mid-December. So I will spend about 336 hours in class this semester for my 18 credit hours. Now with a quick calculation I have figured that I am spending about $23.81 per hour (based on $8,000 per semester of tuition) when I am in class. Just for fun I further extrapolated what we spend as a class per hour (about 55 of us), which means when all of us are in one room together for one hour, we spend about $1,309.52 give or take a few pennies. So a three hour class period garners the University about $3,928.57. Or lets say we watch two hours of video, we effectively just spent $2,619.05. Interesting when you add it all up. I wonder how much it costs to buy one of those videos?
To those of you who are out of state, your tuition is almost exactly double. So you pay about $47 per hour in the classroom. Not too bad when you think about what you get, right?
So next time you feel a little uncomfortable asking a question in class... do the math, you have probably already paid for the answer.
I just had a few minutes to do some extra calculations. This is what I came up with. I spend about 21 hours a week in class in the School of Education. So I figure that we have about 16 weeks of total class from August 27 until mid-December. So I will spend about 336 hours in class this semester for my 18 credit hours. Now with a quick calculation I have figured that I am spending about $23.81 per hour (based on $8,000 per semester of tuition) when I am in class. Just for fun I further extrapolated what we spend as a class per hour (about 55 of us), which means when all of us are in one room together for one hour, we spend about $1,309.52 give or take a few pennies. So a three hour class period garners the University about $3,928.57. Or lets say we watch two hours of video, we effectively just spent $2,619.05. Interesting when you add it all up. I wonder how much it costs to buy one of those videos?
To those of you who are out of state, your tuition is almost exactly double. So you pay about $47 per hour in the classroom. Not too bad when you think about what you get, right?
So next time you feel a little uncomfortable asking a question in class... do the math, you have probably already paid for the answer.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Getting back into the swing of things
Well most of us are in our class placements. I have been testing out our new technology packages. I really enjoy the Mac Laptop. The camera is going to come in handy, but I am not very impressed with the quality of video and pictures... perhaps that is because we have the settings adjusted to get as much time and memory out of the cards as possible.
This week I have been also checking out the technology in my class room. We have a very neat set of "clickers" that are similar to what you use in a restaurante or bar to play a trivia game. I think they will be very useful for reviewing and the students can check their own knowledge with out really having much at risk in the way of others seeing what they answered or a teacher seeing their work.
My wife and I have also had a baby since my last post, watch for pictures in the near future.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Tapped-In
Namaste!!!
Well, I always enjoy trying out a new technology, so here is a transcript of my latest trial. It was very interesting and a neat tool. The interface could be reworked to be much more user friendly and options similar to other instant messengers like a box showing who is typing would really aid in user end use (ahhah). Overall though I can see some real potentials. It is like having a huge conference with out all the extra costs. Below the transcript follows, on a side note though..... Debates on YOUTUBE!!!! that is actually really cool.
Well, I always enjoy trying out a new technology, so here is a transcript of my latest trial. It was very interesting and a neat tool. The interface could be reworked to be much more user friendly and options similar to other instant messengers like a box showing who is typing would really aid in user end use (ahhah). Overall though I can see some real potentials. It is like having a huge conference with out all the extra costs. Below the transcript follows, on a side note though..... Debates on YOUTUBE!!!! that is actually really cool.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
More speed???
I was looking at the fischbowl today and saw a neat post (July 17)about internet connection speeds. Which sparked my curiosity in a number of ways. Check out my comment to see some of my ruminations about why speeds are not that important, but I am wondering why are we so slow compared to the other countries represented. Do we have more people connected? and does that slow it down more? Do we have much cheaper broadband? Are those figures valid??? Well, I guess I will wait to see what some others think.... as my comment said, I am not sure more speed really helps so much in the grand scheme of things.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Technology
A classmate recently posted this opinion, which I very much agree with but had a few alternate opinions to state as well. Since one of my comments asked about my thoughts on technology, I thought I would repost his post and my comment and then perhaps I would have time to make alternate posts in the very near future. So Mark said
"After reading the articles and attending the class on June 29, I have become worried about the socioeconomic issues related with all of these technology issues.
I have recently returned to the US from Cameroon, Africa, where I primarily worked as a teacher. In Cameroon, I had to carry my chalk to class because I would not have had it otherwise, my students were awe to see copies of diagrams of the male and female reproductive organs (they had never seen one before), and a stapler was referred to as "the machine."
"Could I buy a stapler?" I asked the woman who ran the bookstore in my village.
She placed a box of staples on the counter.
"No," I said. "A stapler." I made the customary hand motion one makes while using a stapler.
"Oh," she said, awareness dawning. "The machine."
Today in class while we were talking about what would we want in our future classrooms, I was reminded of being a child looking through the J C Penney Christmas catalog and dreaming of all the glorious merchandise that I would gain in an impossible future. "I want a smart board and a digital projector and laptops for everyone!"
In a global sense, countries that are wired (the developed countries) are increasing the gap between them and lesser developed countries. We are now becoming more effective and efficient at all of our capabilities. Won't this phenomenon now happen inside US schools that are more media savvy and technologically advanced versus ones that are not? Won't this hurt the students who do not have a computer at home? And remember, a lot of students who don't have a computer at home are the very students who don't have time to stay after school to work in the computer lab because they have to go to an after-school job."
My response follows
"After reading the articles and attending the class on June 29, I have become worried about the socioeconomic issues related with all of these technology issues.
I have recently returned to the US from Cameroon, Africa, where I primarily worked as a teacher. In Cameroon, I had to carry my chalk to class because I would not have had it otherwise, my students were awe to see copies of diagrams of the male and female reproductive organs (they had never seen one before), and a stapler was referred to as "the machine."
"Could I buy a stapler?" I asked the woman who ran the bookstore in my village.
She placed a box of staples on the counter.
"No," I said. "A stapler." I made the customary hand motion one makes while using a stapler.
"Oh," she said, awareness dawning. "The machine."
Today in class while we were talking about what would we want in our future classrooms, I was reminded of being a child looking through the J C Penney Christmas catalog and dreaming of all the glorious merchandise that I would gain in an impossible future. "I want a smart board and a digital projector and laptops for everyone!"
In a global sense, countries that are wired (the developed countries) are increasing the gap between them and lesser developed countries. We are now becoming more effective and efficient at all of our capabilities. Won't this phenomenon now happen inside US schools that are more media savvy and technologically advanced versus ones that are not? Won't this hurt the students who do not have a computer at home? And remember, a lot of students who don't have a computer at home are the very students who don't have time to stay after school to work in the computer lab because they have to go to an after-school job."
My response follows
Mark,
The insight you bring from your experience is wonderful, but I would like to investigate the statement, "In a global sense, countries that are wired (the developed countries) are increasing the gap between them and lesser developed countries. We are now becoming more effective and efficient at all of our capabilities." I am not sure there is always a direct correlation between technology and efficiency. In fact, I believe there is often a reverse correlation. In the 90's a very prominent economist put forth a theory of "The Productivity Paradox," (http://ccs.mit.edu/papers/CCSWP130/ccswp130.html). Statistically the more technology introduced the business became less productive. Now there are possible reasons for this like a "lag" in productivity because of a lack of overall infrastructure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox)or measurement tools of the time could be hiding the benefit. Later studies in the late 90's began to show a more positive correlation between technology and productivity and efficiency. Now productivity may take a hit because of improper use of technology (email, blogging, surfing.)
I realize the correlation of business to education is tenative at best, but I do believe we can learn something by viewing another arena entirely.
I would also like to point out that the government agencies in the U.S. were very slow to jump on the IT and computer band-wagon. They took a "lets see how they work in private industry" approach and did not widely invest in the technology until it was generally accepted as proven. This saved millions of dollars. Intially there were many programs and a few platforms to choose from, but by waiting and seeing who became the industry leaders, money was saved. The savings come from not investing in technology that ultimately would fail or not meet the expectations of the users and in not training people on technology that would eventually be abandoned.
So I guess I am saying, by not joining in the technological menagrie in its infant steps, there are benefits. Money savings being one, but also a hind-sight knowledge of what works and advice from current users of certain technologies. It is also easier "catch up" than to be an innovator. Look at how quickly the Japanese auto-makers were able to match and then pass US auto-makers.
On a side note, I am not convinced that technology is making us better learners. Technology relies on a false speed of life, one that is dependent on unsustanable resources. I am not sure that this technological age is developing a healthy attitude or thought process. One current theory says there is a high relationship between ADHD and a deficet in natural settings, they call it Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD), intial studies have shown that ADHD put back into a natural environment benefit from an increased ability to learn in a focused way.
I would also like comment on your observation about students with out computers at home. This is not fair, but it stems from a deeper issue which you touch on. These are the same kids that need to go to an after school job. They have been at a disadvantage from the very beginning. They are the kids whose parents work doubles and they need to pick up the extra slack around the house cleaning and cooking, the kids that do not have as much time to do homework and make additional connections in the materials. The kids who will probably not have the same opportunities as the advantaged when it comes to higher education. This is a huge issue, that is often overlooked. Thank you Mark.
Friday, June 29, 2007
MAC week ONE
Weekly reflections...... At this point, I am thinking there is a lot of work, but not a lot of hard work. The extras are what are really getting to me, there seems to be always "just one more thing," like a TB test or a back ground screening or MTTC testing or Cognates or... well you get the point. I am thankful some industrious individuals have started checklists and are taking the time to set up calendars or remind everyone at the end of each class period. I can definitely see how my cohort are going to be a great asset and I am already impressed with their faculties. I am not sure I have ever been grouped with such a smart and capable group; Will my ego will be able to handle it? At times I feel superfluous.
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