Dustin Roberts : Weblog

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:41:40 GMT

I have learned a lot about using technology in learning. I came in wary at best on the subject -- I have many reservations about new technology. I can say that I now see much value in much of it, and am interested in learning more. I still have reservations socially about some of the implications, but also I see much value. I think that there must be a balance.

My advice would be to remain open-minded. If you already know and value the subject, then great -- but if not, stay open.

For you, I would say keep innovating. I would say that it may be a good idea to allow students to make more plans based on subjects that they plan of teaching -- perhaps ending up in a presentation? Just a thought.

LL 9

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:46:11 GMT

Effective educational game design must pull together many different aspects of game design to work effectively. Edutainment, which focuses on learning entirely, is thus not effective. If players are placed in a situation where they can solve in-game problems in their own way, the game will be more effective. Also, the end result must be logically important to the narritive. Most of all, the game must be fun to play. I have noticed that many people are not interested in chess as played on a board, but make the same game an important part of a video game, and they will learn quickly, and this can also answer question 2. In an in-game world, students feel more free, and the stakes can be artificially higher than in real life. A student may be bored in a game of chess, but make it in a believable setting and make the stakes high (saving a kingdom) and the student will probably care more to learn. Also, a World War II game, that is faithful to history, will draw students in and cause them to learnand try to understand the events than a book or film alone would do. This should only be one aspect, as a game will not yeild itself very well to understanding a historical event on a higher level, but it can be a starting point.

Girls play games about as much and with as much interest as boys. They like well made games, regardless of how "masculine" they may seem.

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:31:23 GMT

According to Shirky, what has the Internet allowed us to do that we couldn't do before it?

He says that the media of the past (print, phones, television, etc...) either created groups or two way communication. Only with the internet do we have both.

Why is this important and what impact could it or will it have on your career as an educator?

The social importance is laid out effectively in the video, but the educational implications are not. I think that it allows for better two way communication between students and the teacher, between students and students, and between parents and the teacher. This is the most fundamental change as I see it.

LL 7

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:40:10 GMT

Why is visual literacy important?

In the same way that it is important to be able to understand things that read, it is important to understand the images that we see. The recent ad campaigns by both Obama and McCain are good examples of how we are manipulated by images. in McCain's ads, they use images that make Obama look frustrated and angry - even like a dictator. This goes in hand with the fears that they are trying to capitalize on that he is a socialist and a person to fear. Obama uses pictures of McCain that make him look silly or stupid. This plays on the idea that Obama has that he is "loosing it" or erratic.

Should visual literacy be a focus in education? Why or why not?

It should be. We should be able to decode the images used in ads as well as in the news. A section in an English class to focus on ads and media, as well as art photography and cinema, would be a good way to tackle this aspect of our lives.

In terms of visual representations, are there double standards for women and men? Explain your answer.

People want to look their best, and people buy into media often based on how attractive the people associated with it are. Women are more exploited than men are usually, but it exists on both sides. I think that Palin was picked in large part because she is attractive, and I cannot even imagine a man picked for similar reasons. This is the culture that we live in - I have seen a study that shows that even women are more likely to buy something with a beautiful women on it than anything else, so maybe its a self inflicted double standard. Companies will do whatever they need to in order to sell more product.

Class assignment

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:04:15 GMT

This week's assignment will be about fact checking. Any well informed citizen should not take things said by politicians at face value, but we should question them. One should be able to find good information about claims made by presidential candidates, because they tend to stretch the truth. For this assignment, I would like for you to find a statement made by both on the major candidates (Barack Obama and John McCain -- one for each) that doesn't stand up against reality. Find and post the statement and the reality, as well as a short (one paragraph) explanation on your findings. To find the untrue statement, you may use any major news outlet, but to find the truth about the statement, use respected, non-commercial news outlets (PBS.org, NPR.org, ProCon.org, FactCheck.org, or BBC.co.uk - any other sites will have to be approved by me. .org's and .edu's are good starts). Please have this done on Thursday. As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me.

Sandra Tsing Loh

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:10:02 GMT

What is the author so upset about?

The main point that she is upset about is that the parents of students in public schools are left out of decision making. As the parents are the primary people who will know what needs to be done (along with actual teachers) this is more than justified. She is also upset about the absurd spending that schools do, but notes that that could be stopped is there was more involvement of parents.

What is her solution?

Mainly for parents to force themselves into the situation. Ideally they would be asked by the government to partake, but this is unlikely. Since we cannot wait around for the system to do the right thing, people need to take an active role.

What are your plans for working with parents in your classroom?

I think that parents are central to teaching, but they will only be as involved as they want to be. I will have a web page where parents can see exactly what we are doing on a weekly basis (I've thought about posting my lesson plans) and I will provide an email address for parents to email me with any ideas, questions or concerns that they may have. If parents wish, I will try to always be available to speak with them in person. Teaching is a group effort, and i will do my best to express that to students as well as parents.

How will you use technology to support parent-teacher-student connections?

See previous answer .

What other feelings would you like to share in response to Ms. Loh's article?

I think that teachers should always form partnerships with parents whenever possible and in any way possible.

The world

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:49:01 GMT

Let me preface this post with some facts about myself. I get about 40% of my news from the BBC 50% from NPR and 10% from PBS. These seem to me to offer the best coverage, and I am sick of all of the other news outlets. In large part, people take things at face value, so they think that what they see is what they get. If the news is reporting on Brittney, people think that that must be what's going on in the world. As much as I love them, it's sad that most people my age get their news from The Colbert Report and The Daily Show (great as they are at satire) - not that 'real news', like Fox news, is any better.

This is where I think that a good English teacher can come in. If a student knows how and why it is important to be an informed citizen, then they may make that effort. If they learn to see beyond what is being said, and to look at how it's being said, they may be discerning enough to understand that most news in this country is a joke.

It isn't just that we don't get the news that we should, it's that most of us wouldn't know what to do with that information. A good teacher would help in that area as well. This trend is probably a fact of modern American life, but a good teacher will help against that - will help the individual to overcome it.

Blog and wiki use - better late than never

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:35:44 GMT

I have become excited about the prospect of using blogs in an English class. This is a great way to allow the conversation to continue beyond the classroom. In addition to a continual conversation, students can post their reactions to the texts as they experience them. Instead of trying to remember how they felt about something that they read last night, they could now write about them sooner. And the teacher could chime in as needed, to keep students on track and thinking. In addition to semi-free dialogue, as the teacher I could have discussion questions (similar to what we do in this class) to get certain topic to be discussed.

A wiki is also an idea that he grown on me. The class could form a wiki to keep every-one's work together and accessible to everyone at once. Also, perhaps a wiki could be a small version of an info-wiki (like a pretend wikipedia entry) so that students could create a wiki about a piece of literature or a writer, and edit and change it as they learn more. Also a wiki could be a good place for students to accumulate any good resources that they may stumble upon that may relate to the class.

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:42:06 GMT

"Children with entity theories believe that intelligence is a fixed property of individuals; children with incremental theories believe that intelligence is malleable."

This is important to me because it sheds light on why some people strive to do better while others don't. This practice must extend even into adulthood because many people keep these habits. It shows why some people are okay with failing and view it as a learning experience and some are so afraid of looking stupid, and thus exposing their lack of 'fixed' intelligence, that they don't try. I also can look at my childhood and see where I was a member of either camp depending on the subject.

Reading

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:31:19 GMT

I have been doing the assigned reading and so much of it is conceptual that I have a difficult time understanding how one would apply the information. I suppose that one has to begin someplace and it'll become clearer as I go along. I did like the box about effective teaching of Hamlet - getting students to think thematically before they even read the text and then seeing how their ideas relate to the text as they read is a wonderful idea. Many of the ideas would revolutionize effecting teaching in this country if the school boards ever let teachers have to flexibility to apply them, and not focusing so much attention on the FCAT.