SMART CH 4: Netbooks

The questions about one-to-one computing in classrooms is something I have not thought very much about. My initial reaction to any kind of technology is that though it is useful and fun, it should not be what all of education is about. There needs to be a great amount of variety in teaching, and technology can just be a tool for overall learning. Therefore, I would suppose that I would not be a proponent to one-to-one computing. Though netbooks and computers do open the classroom up for a wide variety of exploration and tools, learning is still about collaboration, problem solving, and communication, as the chapter mentions. Yes these things can be achieved on computers, and yes the world we are living is becoming more and more technology oriented, I still believe that computers need to be just a small tool in the wide expanse of education. I could see netbooks being a station where a few kids go to work on them at a time. I could also see netbooks being used for internet research and websites for reenforcing learning instead of the sole way of learning. It will be interesting to see what become of the netbooks and whether ipads will over take them in the educational setting.

With the talk of two similar technological equipment, the netbook and the ipad, it is interesting to compare and contrast the two. For pro's I see the netbooks being used for research and word processing features. I could see an easy use of the internet as well as more things to do that is similar to a computer including typing skills and web browsing. For cons I see the netbook as limitless. Because the internet is used on it, I feel it is more difficult to control a student's viewing on the netbooks. While the ipads, I feel like are more easy to control what the student does on it. The teacher downloads the apps and choses for them to be on or off of wi-fi. The student only has a limed options of what to do. A con for ipads would be the typing. Not being used to typing on them I see the pad as being very sensitive to the touch. My finger also starts to hurt after using the ipad for long amounts of time. The machine heats up and it becomes cumbersome for me to use it. I may be old school so it will be interesting to see which the younger generations choses as their choice of technology in the classroom. 

SMART CH 3: MP3 Players

MP3 Players are a whole different issue surrounding schools today. Some cons with MP3 Players are that they are another distraction. Students say they are multitasking when they are using the media but are they really? Can the brain really multitask or is the brain just half way concentrating on both? Another con would be the cheating that can take place with it. This hasn't happened much in recent years but test scores can be recorded and listened to and information could be stored on them in a bad way. 


Some pros associated with MP3's are the usefulness of audio media in the classroom. Stories can be listened to, music can be listened to and languages can be mastered with ease. MP3 Players can also be used to record audio and so students could practice fluency. MP3's open the world up to podcasting where audio is recorded and listened to on MP3 devices which are a strong tool for classroom instructions and sharing of information over the world. 

I really liked the website for Grandview Library Blog. There were many reader's theaters, ebooks and audio to listen to and use as tools in the classroom. Listening to stories can be a strong asset to learning good reading skills in students. 

The second link for Radio Willow Web was really really neat! It was very inspiring to see a school achieve such a great level of podcasting. It was fun to listen too and anyone could learn something from it. It was very organized and clear to listen to and very professional. I would even share these podcasts with my students every week or even have my students make podcasts for different subjects or events in the class. 

For use in the classroom, the book gave several suggestions. One new way for me is that podcasts can be use for students to dictate and record notes while working on research or on a field trip A podcast can be a student's recording of a process or them reaching a goal or solving a mystery. Also, podcasts could be used in debating different issues or types of genres of book over other books. I'm sure there are many many other ways of using podcasts so I would like to investigate an extensive ways so that I may incorporate it into my classroom someday. 

SMART CH2: Cell Phones

It surprised me when the book said that 74% of all teens had cell phones. Thinking about all of American and the number of underprivileged teens, this number somehow surprised me. It made sense after a while especially because even if teens are underprivileged they can work to make money to support themselves and their cell phones. It also surprised in the number of smart phones in the recent years. If 20% of all teens who have phones have smart phones than currently the potential for using smart phone cell phones in class is low but in a few years, that number will go up and then more students will have smart phones to use. So even if it is hard to use cell phones in class today, in a few years, it will be possible that almost every person in my classroom will have a cellphone. Like chewing gum was once a big issue, the cellphone issue will die down within a few years and more potential with learning can be reached with them. 

Some of the cons involved with cellphones are involved with the possible misuse of cellphones. In recent years cell phones have been involved with cheating in the classroom, harassment in text messages or photos taken, and any kinds of bullying that are involved with this. Cell phones can also be a distraction with noise or with attention away from what is important.

As this book suggested, I really like the idea of using the photo feature of cell phones. The photos can be used in the classroom with subjects being studied to reinforce and to document the learning that is taking place.

I also like how the book suggest we teach ethics and manners involved with cell phone use. This would do students a lot of use as they grow up to be adults surrounded by this kind of media and more to use their media in respectful way and with good manners. 

But I really really liked the idea of using the cell phone for podcasting. I have never heard of the websites which you can call and then record a podcast right from your phone! That is brilliant and teachers can even have students call in for assignments with their reflections or ideas to use for the next day of class or to reinforce for learning. 

SMART CH1: 21st Century Skills

All while reading this chapter, my mind kept going back to my first memory of a computer in my house. It was probably I was around the age of 6 which would have been the year 1995. I remember we had a little office area and in that office was the computer. As a kid, I was instructed not to touch it or most importantly be careful when turning it off. I didn't use it much except to watch my parents on it and I only remember watching my grandparents playing free-cell on it... So much has changed now in just 15 years and the debate now stands, do we teach the content knowledge or do we need to teach 21st century skills? Which is more important? I don't know! I continually go back and forth.

21st Century skills are skills very different from all other generations before. While skills continually change, the skills needed in the 21st century have to do with being able to thrive in a constantly evolving society. It's a sink or swim world out there in technology and many technology immigrants are having to learn that the hard way. For the technology natives, there is still a possibility of sinking but it is easier to float since technology is the world that surrounds them.

One quote that really stuck out to me in this chapter said this, "Of course, one of the problems is that we do not know precisely what kinds of job skills today's kindergarten students will need when they graduate from high school." What a powerful and shocking statement? How do you prepare these students? What skills do they need? We don't know yet! Technology is always, always changing and it is hard to stay ahead of the game. But I guess this just means that teachers need to do the best of their ability to teach the students with the technological skills that are around at this moment and keep building on them so that when these students grow up to be adults they will have all the skills of the past and the future.