Reflection #8 and Video #8

What?

In class, we learned about Podcasts and Vidcasts. In past experiences I've never liked podcasts; just the thought of them make/made me cringe. They way that Doc Waters taught us though was pretty fun. I think that I'm slowly starting to like them because it's a much easier way than what I've learned in the past. We also learned, well talked about, some of the ways that we can incorporate Podcasts into our teaching; something that I never would have thought of.

So What?

I think that incorporating podcasts into my teaching will help me reach my students in an all new way. Students nowadays have grown up in a digital world. They are constantly playing around on the internet, cellphones, video games, ect... When you take them away from this and then put them into a classroom that's mainly lecture after lecture then they aren't going to give you their full attention. In reality, who would give you their full attention when they are thinking about doing something else? Incorporating podcasts into my teaching will help show the students that there are fun ways of learning and that can include technology.

Now What?

I would definately try to incorporate podcasts and vidcasts into my teaching, although I don't want to just teach that way because the students may get used to that way of teaching and then they will "zone" out whenever you start teaching another way. The only problem with podcasts is that I will have to get an ipod that has the attachment that makes recording easy. I also have no idea how to put the podcast onto my computer and send it out. I know how to download it once I've recieved it, but I don't know how to place it somewhere. For example, I have no idea how to make it work correctly on my google sites page. So I still have a lot of information to get down before I can incorporate using podcasts in my teaching.

Video Blog:

I watched the video on the podcasts and vidcasts webpage a few weeks ago so I chose to watch the video "Pay Attention". This video was all about engaging your students and how the most recent technology can help incorporate that. There was a part of the video that was about using their cellphones in helping them learn. Something, again, that I never would have thought about. They said that you may be able to use the cellphone in helping with writing, reading, ect... it was very interesting to me.

Something that really shocked me, at first anways, was that it said that only about 28% of 12th grade students thought that homework was meaningful. That really suprised me because I was thinking that it would be more than that, just because of the students wanting to go to college and further their education.

The last little thing that it showed on the video was "Transforming teaching through technology". I really like that becuase it is so true. We need to transform teaching through technology, it's not that we are totally changing certain ways of teaching but we are just using modern day things to better enhance how we teach.