one more thing..

Also. I just wanted to let everyone know I got good news last week. After endlessly searching for a job/internship this summer and having no luck whatsoever, I finally got one.

I applied to the Maine State Government Internship Program. They called me last Wednesday and offered me a position at the Department of Education in Augusta. I guess I was the best match for the position offered. It is a 12 week program and I am looking forward to it. It will be great experience!! I don't know too much about the job yet, but I do know I will be focusing on Special Education. Like going over IEP's, school contracts, etc.


I can't wait! :-)

Final Post..Maybe.

I have learned blogging is a very important technological tool. Blogging is actually very interesting. Prior coming to this class I was a little skeptical about blogs. I did not know too much about them and I did not understand the benefits they can produce. Now after creating my own blog, I have been able to learn how it works relatively quickly. Testing the different functions that the Google blogger has to offer has also been very helpful. This simple program is truly unique. It has so many different options you can choose from, depending on your own desires. I like that because I am very fond of choice.

Blogs are unique! They can be used to communicate thoughts or ideas while at the same time being able to correspond with others. Blogging can be used to discuss any topic whatsoever. For me, education blogs tend to be capture my attention. Within these blogs, some between educators themselves, the topics have a wide variety of range. Being able to find and join these blogs is great way to learn. As a future teacher I will not know everything and will have many questions. So having a easy way to communicate with other teachers will be very useful.

I have also learned how blogging can be incorporated in the classroom. Our guest speaker (Leah Welch) showed us how she uses blogs and I picked up a lot of ideas for myself. I realize blogging can be used for different purposes. For example, an online filling cabinet, a space to communicate with parents or other teachers and even a class portal. It is really neat!

As for continuing this blog, maybe? But I know that in the future, especially as a teacher, I will be maintaining and running a couple blogs myself.

My advice to new bloggers, is too relax. It is easy to learn and use! And blogging does have a lot of potential benefits on a personal or professional level. Really blogging is actually FUN! :-)

Teachers Academy

So I was watching the masters (golf tournament) on Sunday and I saw a commercial that was for "The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy." From what I understand, the academy is a place where elementary school teachers can go to learn more ways to integrate technology, science and math more into their curriculum.

"Today, in fields like medicine, computing and energy, the U.S. needs more brilliant young minds than ever before. Yet, as the need for brainpower grows, the number of our nation’s young people pursuing careers in these areas is decreasing. Fortunately, we believe this trend can be reversed, which is why we partnered with professional golfer Phil Mickelson and his wife Amy to launch the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy in 2005. " -from the website

"As someone who uses math and science every day in my career, I recognize the importance of encouraging children’s interests in math and science and equipping educators with the tools and resources they need to succeed in the classroom," said Phil Mickelson. "The Academy is an opportunity for teachers to share best practices with colleagues and pick up tools to positively impact the science and math education students receive." -from the website


This program seems very interesting. I thought it would be good to share! The website is:
http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/community_ed_math_academy.aspx

So close, but so far.

So..I can't believe this semester is almost over. It has gone by so fast...I seriously can't believe we only have a number of days left. Honestly though, summer can't come soon enough! This year has been very busy!


Lets see, wiki's. I don't really know if I like them or not. I find them a little confusing and slightly pointless. I just feel there is so many other ways to communicate on the social web, that wikis for me is not the number one option. But that is just my opinion! Between podcasts and wikis, I definitely like podcasts better. Learning how to use and create a podcast in class was so much fun. I think they really are interesting and have so much to offer. I can see myself looking and using podcasts more often now.
Anyway, I know they are used for two different reasons, but I guess when getting information across to somebody else, podcasts just seem more appealing to me. Till this class, I had no clue what either one of them where. So I guess it is cool learning all these new tools that are available out there on the web.

Lastly, I think Wikipedia is amazing. Lets just through that out there! If wikipedia is so reliable then teachers and educators should not always ban it. I could understand that a teacher wouldn't want you doing a research paper and using just wikipedia. But I don't think it should be denied and considered a unreliable choice.


<3

Whats on my mind this week...

As I was writing my paper over "A Whole New Mind" I realized that I need to start engaging more to my surroundings. Because we have entered a new age it is important to change with the age. I need to focus on the essential senses so i can move forward. As for the educational aspect. We need to advance our educational system, so instead of Asia leading, the United States can be top in technological and economical advances. Also i need to start thinking and acting in a high concept and high touch fashion. I feel like each person some how already has these ideals but we need to be able to foster them.


I was talking to my friend about the MAT program and I am getting really excited. I hope that when I apply next December I will get in. It sounds like a great program and I am really excited to be part of it. All I hear is great things. The best part about it is I will finish in five years with a masters in education and a teaching certificate. Thought I mention that. :-)

My spring break was great. It was just what I needed before this busy month and a half. Over break I traveled a lot so I was not home much. However I was really able to relax which is exactly what I wanted to do.

No matter where I went technology surrounded me. Going to the airport is just an example. I had no problems going through and catching my flights. When I went to check in it took seconds. Everything seem so fast and efficient. I took an airline called "Jet Blue," now technology had made it so you no longer have tickets since it is already in the computer system. All I received was a tiny receipt telling me my seat number. I found this incredible!

Oh and I still can believe that over the years they are able to make machines that can look through luggage to identify objects for safety reasons. If technology is keeping me safe I think more time should be spent making it even better.

Technology is consistently moving us forward. Technology is consistently changing how we do things. Back ten years ago if I went on an airplane my experience was very different compared to the one I just experience. It also was a lot longer process!

A Whole New Mind

So I don't know who has read any of this book yet. But I read it and I have too say it was very interesting. I picked up on a lot of neat facts that I would probably never learn in my life.

As the book points out we are entering a new age, the conceptual age. This age is animated by a different form of thinking and a higher approach to life. In the book Pink mentions two concepts high concept and high touch. The reason I want to mention them here is because I find these two terms to be extremely fascinating. High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities. It focuses on creating artistic and emotional beauty and combine seeming unrelated ideas into something NEW. High touch is similar but it involves the ability to empathize with others (human interaction). To find joy in one's self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond to find meaning/purpose. The book is actually these two terms!
IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT...YOU SHOULD!!! :-)

Just another couple of things. Did you know the brain consists of some 100 billion cells. Or that self-storage- a business devoted to providing people a place to house their extra stuff- has become a 17 billion dollar annual industry in the United States, larger than the motion picture business (and it is continuing to grow). Or even the fact that India's colleges and universities produce about 350,000 engineering graduates. That is why in 2008 more than half the Fortune 500 companies now outsource software work to India.

Those are just some of the interesting facts I picked up from reading A Whole New Mind...

Google

Can I just say how amazing google is! I never knew about anything that google had to offer. I didn't know about having iGoogle or any other tools that google has to offer. All the different programs and tools are really fun to play around with. I love the google search features. During class I was able to go through some of them and try them out. It makes things a lot easier to find. Oh and I really liked learning the google cheat sheet. This is great because it makes it a lot easier to find the information your exactly looking for and eliminates all the unnecessary information I often get when I do a search. That to me is one of the most annoying things! When you get a bunch a information but none really attains to what your searching for. With the cheat thing I now can specify what I am looking for exactly! I also like the fact that on google you can find almost anything you are looking for. After discovering these tools i realize how everything seems to be almost handed to you. I love that! Not saying I don't like doing hard work, but um really i wish everything was this easy sometimes.


I am excited for break..it can come soon enough! I think the time off will be good time to relax, rest, and obviously play more with technology (i.e. google). Hope everyone else has a great break as well! <3

Comparing Google

I thought it was very interesting in Web Literacy for Educators the little section on comparing google of the United States to the google in China. First of all I did not know that google could be different from country to country. I heard that China actually tried to ban google. However, is that even possible? I wouldn't think deleting a search engine that exists in other countries would not make since because you could easily access it another way.
Another thing that I thought was interesting was by going to http://www.langreiter.com/exec/google-vs-google.html you could type something in and get a comparison between the two googles. China's google depending on the subject can be either have a more liberal stance or a more conservative stance. This is not like the United States google. By moving over the dots with the cursor you can see the how the two versions results differ. I found this very fascinating.

After reading the first two chapters in "Web Literacy for Educators" I learned several small facts concerning technology. For example what URL stands for or what search engines fit for different groups of people. It is nice learning new things (especially things that have to do with technology)!

Just thought I share these couple points with you. :-)

Just some things..

I am sad that we have another six weeks of winter. As Kali pointed out in her blog, the ground hog saw it's shadow. I am a little upset by the fact. This cold weather is getting old.

I just find it amazing that some schools are able to supply each student with their own laptop. The Maine computer program is especially interesting. However, I have to wonder if the great amount of money being spent is actually worth it in the end?! Or at Bentley, how can an entire college get a very nice new laptop every couple of years? Where is all this money coming from? I bet that at Bentley, the students are paying for the computers in some other fashion.

Either way I would like to mention how much I find the Bentley University computer program very neat. Everything program they need for their classes are on these computers (no extra expenses). I think this really is great. It seems so easy and efficient. Rather than going through the process of getting a computer and downloading all the programs you need yourself. It takes one step. I wish we had something like that at Maine! I wonder if with a state school (as big as ours) there is a way to get that type of program? To cut the cost down to a reasonable amount.

You also have to ask the question whether or not this type of system/program really is worth it in the long run? Like the Maine Lap Top Program, is the money being spent properly? Is it effecting education in a positive way? And at Bentley, would it just be better to have the students get their own lap tops and download the programs themselves? What are the main reasons why the University has continued using this computer program?

First off this blog system is really incredible. I was looking at some of those links & they are very interesting.


I just wanted to talk the importance of innovative programs. Schools are creating these programs and in most cases the programs have been pretty successful. The use of technology is also being incorporated into the programs. I feel like the more technology becomes a part of these new programs, the more it will need to be put into the regular education system. Technology is a different way to teach (just like innovative programs is different method). I feel like each of which obviously is having a good yet different impact the educational system. How people learn today is very different from how people learned a decade ago. So since these changes in teaching already exist and are continuing to be successful then over time I think they will complete replace the "simple" teaching method.

I just thought I throw that idea out there.

Teaching & Technology

As a future educator I know that technology is a very important factor for learning. Technology is changing everyday and the traditional teaching and learning methods are now being continuously challenged. I believe there are many advantages and disadvantages to the growing mix of technology and education. The more traditional methods I seem to favor as of now, but that is only because I haven't experienced anything different. Technology is so vast. I feel like as a teacher, it will be hard to keep up with all the technological advances as well as make sure the students are still learning. I know that several forms of technology today can become a distraction for students (i.e. cellphones). So is using more technology going to truly help educate the students? Or will it become a bigger distraction?
Going further technology is obviously becoming more and more integrated into the classroom experience. Talking with my group members today, I found out that Canada's school systems had each student use computers up through high school. For me that did not happen. At the time I was in school Maine did not have the lap top program. So I was not really taught using much technology. I can tell now (with my little 13 year old sister) that the educational system is a lot different now-a-days.