WEEK+4

Week 4


 * __Problem With Technology__**
 * Today is a big day in the world of sports ... it is the Superbowl! Keeping that in mind, I decided I wanted to watch an episode of my favourite T.V. program, NCIS, before sitting down to write my reflection for this class for the past week. I was almost done the episode when the T.V. screen just shut off. I still had volume and could continue listening to the DVD, however, I had no visual. The screen went black and where the power button would light up when the T.V. was on, it was now flashing red, seven times in a row, and then stop, then seven red blinks again. I immediately called upon my Dad because I was afraid I had done something to the T.V. We changed the batteries in the remote, read the manual, changed power source (used a different outlet), and final resorted to Googling the product number along with the words "screen failure". Several websites came up and one suggested using a different power source, hence trying a different outlet. When we read more, it turns out that this has happened to many people with this or a similar model around the same time frame after purchase (we have had ours for approximately 14 months). So, I don't know what we are going to do other than look at getting a new T.V. and possibly call Panasonic tomorrow as the number of times (7) the power button blinks red indicates the type of problem/failure we have experienced (based on the comments of those posted on the website who have experienced the same issue and have called Panasonic).


 * __Technology Class__**
 * In class this week we learned how to make a video. I was partnered with Alex and we went to a quiet corridor to discuss and film the topic of our video. We decided we would briefly talk about our background and then provide some insight into why we want to become a teacher. Our task was to create a 30 second video, however, I believe we had close to 1.5 - 2 minutes worth of footage because we both had a lot to say! We had a lot of fun creating our video because we played around with different transitions and searched for music that would suit our video. Alex was the one in charge of putting everything together, which was a downfall for me as I didn't get the hands on experience of putting everything together (it would have been interesting to download the information on to both of our computers and see how different our videos would have been, for example, order, choice of transitions, background music, sound effects, etc.). We ran into problems when it came time to 'publish' our video as it wouldn't save properly. As a result, we lost all of the footage we had taped and the time we had spent putting everything together was gone. However, in spite of that, I have decided to create my own video with the assistance of my brother as I would like to learn how to use the programs necessary to create a video and explore this process on my own (self-directed, independent learning!).

media type="file" key="Movie.wmv" width="300" height="300" align="center"


 * __Cyber bullying Workshop__**
 * I attended the cyber bullying workshop Monday after class. I found the workshop to be very beneficial as I realized that this is a serious issue that is happening everywhere. I have included some of the interesting facts I learned from the workshop below:
 * Definition of cyber bullying: "The use of information and communication technologies ... to support deliberate, and hostile behaviors, by an individual or a group which are intended to harm others" (Bill Belsey, [|www.cyberbullying.ca])
 * Cyber bullying allows for: anonymity, no physical harm, fewer social barriers, fewer legal consequences, and there is an increase in speed of communication
 * Based on a CBC report, victims experience a greater sense of powerlessness, frustration, and betrayal and that cyber bullying has a greater impact on students than traditional bullying
 * 2007 Canadian study: 40% of teenagers have been victims of cyber bullying, only 10% inform their parents, 66% of parents never monitor their child's use of technology, 70% of Canadian teens report being bullied online, 44% of Canadian teens admit to bullying someone online, 38% of Canadian teens experienced bullying in the past 3 months
 * 37% of students report being cyber bullied by email, 77% report being bullied using instant messaging, 59% of people surveyed have assumed a 'different identity' online
 * Cell phones are the fastest growing technology market

I have included some links below of websites I found that relate to cyber bullying. It would be interesting to incorporate the topic of cyber bullying into the classroom and have students conduct their own research and create a podcast or video about cyber bullying, what students say and do to cyber bully, the effects, etc.

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[|**http://www.safecanada.ca/link_e.asp?category=28&topic=164**]

[|**http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=974494**]

[|**http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/tvoparents/index.cfm?page_id=145&action=article&article_id=83**]

[|**http://www.canada.com/technology/Cyberbullying+rise+Canada+survey/1329272/story.html**]

There was an interesting T.V. program that aired on CBC Thursday, February 4, called 'Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids". I have included the link below which shows a brief write up and then you can watch the video as well.
 * __Interesting Video on CBC__**

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 * __Key points from the reading "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" written by Marc Prensky__**
 * K - college: spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computer, video games, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age
 * Average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV)
 * Today's students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors - very likely that our students' brains have physically changed and are different from ours


 * N for Net-gen & D for Digital-gen
 * Students today are all "native speakers" of the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet
 * Those of us who were not born into the digital work but have, at some later point in our lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are, and always will be compared to them, Digital Immigrants
 * Digital Immigrants: learn to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their "accent", that is, their foot in the past (i.e. turning to the Internet for information second rather than first; printing out an email; needing to print out a document written on the computer in order to edit it; etc.); don't believe students can learn successfully while watching TV or listening to music; think learning can't or shouldn't be fun; think the same methods that worked for the teachers when they were students will work for their students now
 * Digital Natives: receive information really fast; parallel process & multi-task; prefer graphics before text rather than the opposite; prefer random access (hyper text); function best when networked; thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards


 * Single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak and outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language


 * Need to reconsider both methodology (learn to communicate in the language & style of the students - means going faster, less step-by-step) and content (Legacy & Future; new content & thinking)
 * Legacy: Includes reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past - all of the "traditional" curriculum
 * Future: digital & technological, includes software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology, genomics, it also includes ethics, politics, sociology, languages, etc.
 * Need to invent Digital Native methodologies for all subjects, at all levels, using our students to guide us


 * Should the Digital Native students learn the old ways, or should their Digital Immigrant educators learn the new?