education vs. technology

The blog “Are We Selling It to the Wrong People” had some major points that struck me as a student today. When Mr. Warlick says, “most of the learning tools speak the language of today’s students, teach them where they are.” It really made me think about how we do want to get the latest technology that is out there. That technology almost always helps our learning in some way shape or form. Just the other day I was at the T-Mobile store helping my mom pick out a better phone. I found myself wanting the newest phone when my phone can do some pretty high tech stuff. On the other hand the newer phone can do that much more. This could benefit my learning in a couple of ways. One with the largest impact would be that I could look up stuff on the web faster on my phone than having to go all the way to a computer.
“I’m not suggesting that we turn purchasing over to students. But one of the things that continues to irritate me in the conversations about education reform/restructuring/retooling (not to mention the spending of stimulus monies) is that so much of it is aimed, with the best intentions, at serving teachers and schools — serving education.” states Mr. Warlick. This quote in not only powerful, but it is also very meaning full. This quote challenges us as learners to get the latest forms of technology. The retooling, restructuring, and reform of education are simply us getting more and more ways to learn. This statement is true because the technology not only benefits the nation as a whole. It makes all of us smarter at the same time. This connects to me directly in the form of a student. I am in the learning process and want to learn about information found from technology. The students, us, are some of technologies largest inverters for simply the task of bettering learning.

the H1N1 is two parts

The H1N1 is a virus that has said to be a more that what it actually is. In the article, “Two H1N1 Patient’s Two Different Outcomes” it talks about how there are two kids that are just forty feet away in the hospital, but “There chances of recovery are miles apart,” the doctors say. Tony is the one that is in much better shape than Leteasha. Leteasha is going to be put on a machine called the EMCO. It is her best chance of survival because the machine acts like her heart and lungs and oxygenates her blood.
This is the same virus that is doing this to both of them. My question along with the doctors is: Why is Tony doing a lot better than Lateasha is? This question we will wrestle with because it is one that could have many answers. One of those answers, in my opinion, is that Tony has that desire to live more that Lateasha does. This can be ruled out just as fast because she loves to sing and dance at home. Which makes me think why would not she want to live? Another response to this question is that Tony got a less severe case of the virus. I hope that is it and not many more will be as harmed as Lateasha was.
This relates to me because at Arapahoe there are more than a few kids that are sick. I really hope that none of them have a case of H1N1 like these two patients have. I would be really scared for them for a couple of reasons. One of the top reasons being, that they would be fighting for there life and I really do not want to lose anyone of my friends. So that is why I hope none of my friends do get this virus nearly as bad as Lateasha got it. Think of these two kids and how hard they are fighting each and every day.

learning to a new extent

The article “What is 21st Century Learning” really stuck out to me when I was looking at a list of the others. This mainly because I really want to know how we learn now compared to how my dad learned for example. In the article it talks about the three major categories of learning have changed from. In the 20th century those categories were listening, watching, and remembering. Just in the past century has changed a ton. Now we are questioning our learning, gathering our information environment, proving what we found, constructing new learning and knowledge, teaching others what we learn, being respected for the power of our learning, and being responsible for our learning and its out come. I think those bullets really do express how we work today. For example this blog we are writing we have to deepen our thoughts. Our teacher wants us to do this because she wants us to go somewhere in life. If we use these things every day when we learn we will be in very good shape for the future. Then, when it comes to the real world we will know what to do with every problem that comes up. For example if we are making a deal with another company, we will question and think deeper about the deal. The type of learning that has occurred is amazing compared to what it was. There are only three major points that made people in the elder generation smart. We have more points so could not we be smarter? We will be because we are always expanding our thoughts mainly under these categories.

PLN learning blog

I first read the hand out about how kids today cannot write as well as they once have and technology is to blame. Later in the paper those same people saying that kids today write far more than any other generation. Finally they say that people today write to an audience rather than just one professor that everyone usually does. They say that this is better because kids today take into effect a lot more than those kids just writing to a professor. My first reaction to this was that my generation can be the best of writers. We can do this because my generation learns in the most efficient ways with the technology that we have access to. We use it to provide for our learning day in day out. Technology is our way to learn and interact. It is how we get most things done when it comes to school. For example this blog is a form of technology. Without it, we would have to write on paper where only one person could see as opposed to the amount that can see it on the web. Technology has really changed the way that we learn. We are privileged to have access to all of this.
The machines are using us is a video in which it take us on a journey of what the web is capable of. It says things about how the text is movable versus the text that is not on a regular piece of paper. One of the things that struck me the most was when he was talking about how we teach the machine every time we add something to the web. I thought that the video was really cool and it opened my eyes to what the web can and will do. I learned that the whole web is things that we create. I think that is amazing because the web is something that most all of us go on daily, and it is made up of things that other humans put on it. There is not just an all knowing super computer that puts everything on the web. The statement, “every time we post something we are teaching the machine” really made me have some second thoughts about that. If we are teaching it, Will not it soon be able to do anything just on its own? In the future that is what I think it will turn out to be. This is not going to be a bad thing though. It is going to be very helpful if and when it is created. The video really helped me open my eyes to what the new web 2.0 can do for us on a daily basis.