Reflection #7-12

#7 I was watching the television show Friends. I watching season two which was from 1995. On the show one of the characters got a laptop with a printer. The laptop was big and bulky, it was loud and slow. I thought this was very interesting because this took place only 15 years ago and today Ipod is coming out with a complete laptop that you can hold and touch smaller then a piece of paper. I just can't believe how quickly the technology changes, gets smaller, and better. I can't believe how much it has changed already in my short life so far. It makes me interested in how far technology can go in the rest of my life time. If I teach for only fifteen years I will have to adapt my teaching to as much change in technology that their has been since Chandler got a laptop on friends.

#8 In Special Needs in Education our professor doesn't hardly ever use technology to teach. He has hand written notes and lectures from these. He is also one of my favorite and best teachers. I just thought this was interesting because it shows that if you are a great teacher you can still be extremely affective without the use of technology. However, if this teacher already has a great impact without technology I wonder how much influence he could have if he incorporate it. I just don't want our teachers and myself as a future teacher to become to reliant on technology that we cannot be affective without it. Maybe we should focus on our teaching skills first and incorporate technology second.

#9 I found this article on MSN entitled 16 Year-Old Accuses Mom of Facebook Slander. The article basically says that this mom got onto her sons Facebook acount posted a few things and changed the password so he couldn't use the account anymore. The mom said she did this because he was posting inappropriate things. They wouldn't say what exactly he posted because he was underage but the mom did say that he wrote on his facebook that he drove home at 96 MPH because he was mad at a girl. The mother said he had previously been warned about using his facebook inappropriately. After the son realized he could no longer get onto his facebook he went to the court house and pressed charges against his mother on the grounds of slander.
OK WOW. I just can't believe that we are having these issues today. Parents today have to be constantly aware of what their child is doing online and what they are posting. I understand the frustration of the child but also know the need to protect your child on the Internet. With kids using the Internet more and more at younger ages the need to watch and protect your child has increased. Although there are many resources available on the Internet for children parents need to constantly be wary of the junk on the Internet as well, and what their children are saying about themselves. I just hope that this son doesn't win this case else parents will have a harder time in the future controlling their kids' Internet use.

#10 I ran across this amazing video on YouTube: Math Teacher Shadow Trick During Lecture. This is a math teacher who is giving a lecture with use of a computer and projector. During his lecture his shadow on the screen behind him starts moving differently than he is. The teacher finally catches his shadow and then ends up having a little fight with it. The shadow messes with things on his computer and when the teacher tries to shut off the computer the shadow throws the shut down box off of the screen. I thought this was not only funny but also showed the great advancement of technology. How crazy is it that someone that Peter Pan did in fairy tales actually can happen now using technology. I wish I knew how the teacher did it, I am sure it must be some 3D software or something. It is just crazy to me that as a teacher I have technology like that available to me to enhance my teaching. Just think other ways that a 3D software like that could be used. I could create 3D lesson plans that students would actively be involved with who knows that might be able to interact on the board from their own seats and see themselves moving on the actual screen. It is just an amazing video and I am just baffled by the places that technology can take us today and in the future.

#11 I found this article called Study: College Students are Internet-Addicted which basically says that a bunch of students were asked to give up all Internet and technology for one day and many of them showed signs of withdrawal much like they would with alcohol abuse. The article went on to say that many students felt lonely and disconnected from their friends and family while not using technology. This article was interestingly on the web which is merely feeding the addiction (if there is an addiction). The article also told of some extreme cases where people neglected their lives and children for the Internet. Although, I agree that we as a people are becoming reliant on technology I would not necessarily call it an addiction. Many of the things the students were having a hard time with was not being connected to their friends and family and in this case I would say they aren't addicted to technology but rather they miss their friends and family. I just don't understand because we are told how great technology is and how it can change everyone's life for the better but we can also become dependent on it. I just don't know where the line is and where it is not. We just need to stay connected to our world in other ways as well. Maybe on top of texting friends we also call them sometimes, and maybe even go see them. We just need to be well balanced so we use technology for good but don't freak out if the power goes out.

#12 Oregon became the first state to switch all it's technology usage and networking to Google. The article Oregon Brings Google Apps to Public Schools says that the state decided to do this to help prepare student's for the digital world in the work place and to save money. Google is offering all of their apps for free to the schools, worked with the state to make security tighter, won't advertise on the school used apps, and will take care of all of the maintenance. Basically the state thought that it was a great deal. They save money because they don't have to pay for servers, e-mail, class sites, or IT guys any more. Also this move helps the state promote digital learning to the extreme. Oregon has done it. As all states are looking at incorporating more technology in classrooms Oregon not only found a great easy way to do this they also are saving a ton of money in the process. I just think it is genius. A public school official called it a no brainier in the article and I agree with him or her. It is so simple, so beneficial, so cheap, and Google does all the work for them. It will be interesting to see how this works out for them in the future. I wonder if they aren't allowed to use any other software but what Google provides. If they cannot use anything else that might be frustrating. I want to see if any other states follow in Oregon's footsteps and fully immerse learning into technology as they are.