The event was a smash! Good job to all the presenters! It was exciting to see all those who came and to hear that we had around 82 people streaming in! Woot woot!
I personally invited 9 people to the event.
Dr. Bailey---One of my professors who is always interested in new ways of teaching.
Dr. Lecheminant---Professor who is interested in learning styles, teaching and openness.
Dr. Hall,--Director of Student Wellness, who can have a large impact of students and what they get involved in.
Glenna Padfield--Director over student activity classes. She coaches and helps others learn how to teach. She is always interested in new topics.
Sharron --Secretary on Student Wellness--a life-long teacher and learner
Lacey --sister who is super interested in openness and business and also education.
Jared--Majoring in education and has a super large desire to change the education school systems to make them more personalized.
Charise--Very interested in open government and openness in general. She has currently been researching the openness act of the oil industry.
Rosanne--Mom--She is also a leader of education up in Alaska. She teaches at home and is a large advocate of knowing what's going on in the world.
In addition to the 9 people I invited, I posted it on my FB and invited people to it. Furthermore I got permission to make a "news feed" for the event on the Student Wellness website. It has been on their website all week.
For the event, I helped with the refreshments afterwards. Mmmm mmm good brownies and juice. :)
None of my invitees were able to make it or stream in but I am glad I got to share what I did with them about this digital revolution. Hopefully this will be just the tip of the iceberg of knowledge and information that I will be able to share with others about this revolution.
Thank again for everyone doing such a great job!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Reflective Post--What I have learned
Self-Directed Learning:
Over the past four months, I think I have learned more about self-directed learning that will be useful for "continued" learning throughout my life and that is saying something because I grew up in a home where we were home schooled. I started this journey, of self-directed learning at a very young age. Steps and years at a time. I learned I had to put the time in in order to get anything out. I had the resources but I had to make the effort and teach myself.
Although I started at a young age, as I went to college I was prepared for intense studying on my own but what I seemed to have left behind was a sense of learning on my own. Not a teacher, book or the TA should be the only source of information and learning but to teach yourself and learn from the abundance of information we have. To really go out and understand the subject.
This class helped me realize and fully understand what self-directed learning truly is. It helped me realize that I don't just have to study and research what's demanded of me, but to dive into other things. Things that interest me, things that pertain to the subject etc. Furthermore, I learned to use all the information through this digitally advanced world we live in. To get social proof, to ask the experts. I seriously never thought of actually approaching them and asking their advice. BRILLIANCE! This world has so much to offer and now with the many available technological advances, I have the world at my fingertips.
I never want to loose this insight I have gained. I want to be a "continuous learner" --for the rest of my life. I don't want to be ignorant, or not have enough time to learn. I want to be "FOREVER YOUNG" :)
Although self-directed learning was one of the main and core things I took away from this class, there are several other gems such as learning history via a different and unusual route. From the Renaissance to present. In addition, how to consume, create and connect digitally everything I am learning.
Historical Content:
1. Would We Choose a Fat President?
2. Have Families Gotten Smaller Because of Feminism?
3. Evolution of Modern Medicine and the Decline on Patient Care
4. What do we want our future to look like?
5. Finnish Education--Leading in the World
6. Media--"Seeing, Not Reading Became the Basis for Believing"
There is so much we can learn from history that I never realized before. In the past, I've been interested about history, but never really "learned and applied" historical concepts, people, events etc. Throughout history, you can see patterns, movements, involvement, what worked, what didn't. You can recognize what made famous and significant people great and how they influenced thousands or millions.
One huge concept I learned from studying and learning these historical periods is how each one relates to our society and world today. Even from the books I read, one being Rousseau , and how what he wrote and did had a huge impact on how our society is today. It was people like him, that throughout history, that went out of the norm, out of their bubble and said, I want to make a difference.
In addition, one main concept I focused on during this class is education.There is so many correlations and significant events throughout history that developed and changed the way the education systems are today. Some of it good, and some of it bad. We can learn from the past and use what we have for the future and the generations to come.
Digital Concepts:
1. Blogging: A Participation Act
2. Autistic Children and Virtual Reality
3. Intelligence Smelligence...Who is Smarter?
4. Is Social Media Changing Our Identity?
Not only the historical time periods relate to our day but also the digital concepts are intertwined into each era as well as to us, today. Some are more prominent then others but these digital concepts have carried on throughout the ages.
Some examples are as followed. Control: from WW1 and the Nazi's trying to dominate all forces of control-- to the government trying to control the internet today with SOPA. Participation: from the American revolution and constitution-- to how we today can participate via blogging, social networks, video channels etc. Information: from the start of collaborating to create encyclopedias and gathering research and written word, to now a widespread of information available at our fingertips. More research, more knowledge from more available information.
How great it was to study them all together, to be able to see and relate. I think that is one of the best ways to learn. Is to make a connection to yourself, to your life, to whatever subject you are trying to learn. It sticks better and can then be applied.
Everyday, we consume information, but what do we do with it? That's the problem we have in our education systems. I mentioned it in a few of my educational posts. We don't take the time to do anything more prestigious with the information we obtain. We all know we write a million papers in school but don't get adequate feedback. Opening up your papers to the public where feedback is limitless can enhance the learning and create a further desire. I created in me a desire to want to write and see what others would say. It helped me want to research and learn more.
The point is, is that with all the digital technologies we have today, the learning styles are endless, whether its virtual reality or blogging and connecting with outside world, there should be more of this use in our education systems.
This way of learning not only made me want to consume more information but create, create! The last digital aspect is to connect. As I mentioned earlier, it is amazing what things you can do and what networks and connections you can make by simply talking to a few people and asking them about their work. In class I was able to connect with my peers and teachers through blogging, google + etc. Furthermore the advertisements I was able to create for the event was able to go widespread over blogs, facebook, twitter etc... advertising has a much larger impact when you can connect to a larger variety of people through the internet and the technologies we have today.
I can't wait to start using this "connection method" within my nutritional blogging and businesses. It just makes sense and helps you spread the word about your business. If you ask someone about themselves, of course they are going to be more willing to check out your work and spread the word about you and your business. Make the connection and get the advice.
Finally, the project I must admit was HUGE, so many variables and things we, as a class, were working on. I was part of the graphics team and was able to have my hands in all parts of the project. I helped put together advertisements, info-graphics, the comic etc. It has been exciting to see our hard work be put into something that can actually be used and read by the public.
Overall, I am super glad I took this class. It seemed like it would be way too much work at first, but I came to find out that this type of work sometimes, didn't even seem like work. It created in me a desire to keep learning.
A true learner never stops learning....but continues FOREVER!
Over the past four months, I think I have learned more about self-directed learning that will be useful for "continued" learning throughout my life and that is saying something because I grew up in a home where we were home schooled. I started this journey, of self-directed learning at a very young age. Steps and years at a time. I learned I had to put the time in in order to get anything out. I had the resources but I had to make the effort and teach myself.
 |
by Phaitoon
|
This class helped me realize and fully understand what self-directed learning truly is. It helped me realize that I don't just have to study and research what's demanded of me, but to dive into other things. Things that interest me, things that pertain to the subject etc. Furthermore, I learned to use all the information through this digitally advanced world we live in. To get social proof, to ask the experts. I seriously never thought of actually approaching them and asking their advice. BRILLIANCE! This world has so much to offer and now with the many available technological advances, I have the world at my fingertips.
I never want to loose this insight I have gained. I want to be a "continuous learner" --for the rest of my life. I don't want to be ignorant, or not have enough time to learn. I want to be "FOREVER YOUNG" :)
Although self-directed learning was one of the main and core things I took away from this class, there are several other gems such as learning history via a different and unusual route. From the Renaissance to present. In addition, how to consume, create and connect digitally everything I am learning.
Historical Content:
1. Would We Choose a Fat President?
2. Have Families Gotten Smaller Because of Feminism?
3. Evolution of Modern Medicine and the Decline on Patient Care
4. What do we want our future to look like?
5. Finnish Education--Leading in the World
6. Media--"Seeing, Not Reading Became the Basis for Believing"
There is so much we can learn from history that I never realized before. In the past, I've been interested about history, but never really "learned and applied" historical concepts, people, events etc. Throughout history, you can see patterns, movements, involvement, what worked, what didn't. You can recognize what made famous and significant people great and how they influenced thousands or millions.
One huge concept I learned from studying and learning these historical periods is how each one relates to our society and world today. Even from the books I read, one being Rousseau , and how what he wrote and did had a huge impact on how our society is today. It was people like him, that throughout history, that went out of the norm, out of their bubble and said, I want to make a difference.
In addition, one main concept I focused on during this class is education.There is so many correlations and significant events throughout history that developed and changed the way the education systems are today. Some of it good, and some of it bad. We can learn from the past and use what we have for the future and the generations to come.
Digital Concepts:
1. Blogging: A Participation Act
2. Autistic Children and Virtual Reality
3. Intelligence Smelligence...Who is Smarter?
4. Is Social Media Changing Our Identity?
Not only the historical time periods relate to our day but also the digital concepts are intertwined into each era as well as to us, today. Some are more prominent then others but these digital concepts have carried on throughout the ages.
 |
by Bernie Condon
|
How great it was to study them all together, to be able to see and relate. I think that is one of the best ways to learn. Is to make a connection to yourself, to your life, to whatever subject you are trying to learn. It sticks better and can then be applied.
 |
by renjith krishnan
|
The point is, is that with all the digital technologies we have today, the learning styles are endless, whether its virtual reality or blogging and connecting with outside world, there should be more of this use in our education systems.
This way of learning not only made me want to consume more information but create, create! The last digital aspect is to connect. As I mentioned earlier, it is amazing what things you can do and what networks and connections you can make by simply talking to a few people and asking them about their work. In class I was able to connect with my peers and teachers through blogging, google + etc. Furthermore the advertisements I was able to create for the event was able to go widespread over blogs, facebook, twitter etc... advertising has a much larger impact when you can connect to a larger variety of people through the internet and the technologies we have today.
I can't wait to start using this "connection method" within my nutritional blogging and businesses. It just makes sense and helps you spread the word about your business. If you ask someone about themselves, of course they are going to be more willing to check out your work and spread the word about you and your business. Make the connection and get the advice.
Finally, the project I must admit was HUGE, so many variables and things we, as a class, were working on. I was part of the graphics team and was able to have my hands in all parts of the project. I helped put together advertisements, info-graphics, the comic etc. It has been exciting to see our hard work be put into something that can actually be used and read by the public.
Overall, I am super glad I took this class. It seemed like it would be way too much work at first, but I came to find out that this type of work sometimes, didn't even seem like work. It created in me a desire to keep learning.
A true learner never stops learning....but continues FOREVER!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Science group info-graphic--check it!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
New Poster
This one is way better....what do you think?
Also I was thinking we could put some info in the blank area under the title explaining the event.
Also I was thinking we could put some info in the blank area under the title explaining the event.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Advertisements
I just threw these together, what do you think? Hate them? Love them? Needs some changing?
I will come up a cool thing for the title as soon as I get it.
I will come up a cool thing for the title as soon as I get it.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Chapter Title Images
Here are chapter title images. I also spent some time figuring out formating for the book. Shoot we are going to make this look good!
Business
C-IP
Government
Evolution of a Scientist
Maybe front page....
Motivating education
Openness
The Arts
Inquiry
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Titles For The Groups
Here are the group titles. We will incorporate them into the book and see how they look. What do you think?
Monday, March 19, 2012
Idea For Spicing Up Titles
I saw this picture and thought this might be a really great idea to incorporate into our book and use them as our titles. We could make them look like pins. I could through them together super fast on photoshop and it would give it more color and spice.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
"Government" ROUGH DRAFT Comic
Don't forget to get your pictures uploaded to dropbox today. :)
Here is a SUPER ROUGH DRAFT for the comic at the end of "Government" chapter. We will have the two comic characters on the couch and one looking through the binoculars and the other on a cell phone.
If you have any suggestions or photos you want to include, let me know! It will be much better than this, but I'm just getting it together.
This week I lost my computer, due to an accident. :( Sorry everything is running a little slow on my part. I forgot what it is like without a computer. We really do depend on technology so much but take it all for granted. It is so useful and makes our lives more complicated in some ways but makes things easier in others.
Here is a SUPER ROUGH DRAFT for the comic at the end of "Government" chapter. We will have the two comic characters on the couch and one looking through the binoculars and the other on a cell phone.
If you have any suggestions or photos you want to include, let me know! It will be much better than this, but I'm just getting it together.
This week I lost my computer, due to an accident. :( Sorry everything is running a little slow on my part. I forgot what it is like without a computer. We really do depend on technology so much but take it all for granted. It is so useful and makes our lives more complicated in some ways but makes things easier in others.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Our New Graphics Idea
Our new idea!
So Marissa and I have decided upon a new idea. She came up with it really but I think it will work great with the ebook and any type of presentations we use.
We will be using a comic figure throughout the whole book and at the end of each chapter we will place that comic figure in a setting (according to topic) and have images, drawings of things that relate to the chapter material that will help get your points across. This will add spice and variety to each chapter and it will also give it something to tie the material together.
I know if might seem super hard to understand but I am currently working on one for government and as soon as I have some of it smooched together, I will post it.
I just spend hours going through government's material and finding pictures that would relate and get the point across. I think I have almost all the pictures, now I just need to use my photoshop skills and create the full image.
So Marissa and I have decided upon a new idea. She came up with it really but I think it will work great with the ebook and any type of presentations we use.
We will be using a comic figure throughout the whole book and at the end of each chapter we will place that comic figure in a setting (according to topic) and have images, drawings of things that relate to the chapter material that will help get your points across. This will add spice and variety to each chapter and it will also give it something to tie the material together.
I know if might seem super hard to understand but I am currently working on one for government and as soon as I have some of it smooched together, I will post it.
I just spend hours going through government's material and finding pictures that would relate and get the point across. I think I have almost all the pictures, now I just need to use my photoshop skills and create the full image.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
ARTS and MUSIC Graphics Preview
Graphics: Here are some images that I have found so far for your working content. I have been trying to make good connections with your material and the images. Let me know what you think.
Without using the arts and music in education, is it depriving children from using and developing their creative brains?
Digital music and how it has changed
Arts and music is what connects us
Out with the old, on with the new
Without using the arts and music in education, is it depriving children from using and developing their creative brains?
 |
| Does it affect the learning of our children? Does it connect them with the world around them? |
Friday, March 9, 2012
Memes
Memes are the new thing on the web. You can't go to any social media sight and not find a meme. They capture your attention, and most are insightful or just down right funny. Did you know that BYU even has their own meme facebook page? Anyone can post to it and add more memes.
A meme is a concept that spreads fast via the internet, VIRAL! It spreads through cultures or imitation of. An internet meme is usually a picture taken and a caption written over it. It can be humorous, educational, intellectual (makes you think) etc... There are no limits.
Memes have been the new craze at universities across the world.Memes usually reference things such as crazy classes, culture within the campus, drinking, parking etc. Even our very own BYU has a FB page made exclusively for memes. BYU memes
Memes have the ability to shift peoples mindsets, give new ideas and most of all they create a snowball affect. Most memes have many others that go along with it. Whether its controversial to the concept or adds to the point, they make others think and gets the viewer creating their own. It's contagious!
SO to get to the NITTY GRITTY!
Dr. Burton and Dr. Zappala have asked that each group make their meme. It can be one image with a phrase or several images, it is up to you.
This will help you cement your ideas and get you going on what your real focus is. As always the graphics team, Marissa and Becca are always willing and able to help. If you need a few ideas or just some advice, please don't hesitate to ask.
Here are some ideas below and more to come.
A meme is a concept that spreads fast via the internet, VIRAL! It spreads through cultures or imitation of. An internet meme is usually a picture taken and a caption written over it. It can be humorous, educational, intellectual (makes you think) etc... There are no limits.
Memes have been the new craze at universities across the world.Memes usually reference things such as crazy classes, culture within the campus, drinking, parking etc. Even our very own BYU has a FB page made exclusively for memes. BYU memes
Furthermore with increase in and for memes, I recently checked on Google insights to see how memes have risen in popularity in the last few months and you would be amazed at its growth just since February. Google Insights
Memes have the ability to shift peoples mindsets, give new ideas and most of all they create a snowball affect. Most memes have many others that go along with it. Whether its controversial to the concept or adds to the point, they make others think and gets the viewer creating their own. It's contagious!
SO to get to the NITTY GRITTY!
Dr. Burton and Dr. Zappala have asked that each group make their meme. It can be one image with a phrase or several images, it is up to you.
This will help you cement your ideas and get you going on what your real focus is. As always the graphics team, Marissa and Becca are always willing and able to help. If you need a few ideas or just some advice, please don't hesitate to ask.
Here are some ideas below and more to come.
OPENNESS
Friday, March 2, 2012
Is Social Media Changing Our Identity?
Watch out, your next status update might be your last! Social media is a great way to loose your identity. When I first starting researching identity, I found an interest in social media and identity. There are so many ways even through Facebook or Twitter that you could lose your identity. Here are a few ways and tips to never do to help protect yourself.
-Passwords
-Logging in and out is super important.
-Date of Birth--I know its great to see peoples birthdays but is a great asset if I were the thief.
-Full name--put a nickname or just your first or last name.
-Home town--they can track you and find you super fast.
-Be careful of what you share. I know you want to share your last vacation but that could be an avenue.
Now I would like to get to the nitty gritty;
Social media has such great influence on what we do, what we share and I think sometimes people rely on it too much. I know friends that have FB and Twitter on their smart phones and it gives them updates when some one posts on their wall or tags them. Honestly how many interruptions can a person handle in one day. But then I was thinking about it and maybe some people...that's just one of their realities, one of their worlds they are living in.
I found the video, seen below, that particularly caught my attention. "Human cost of social technology" Is it really costing us? What is it costing us?
Many people have different identities on FB, different accounts, or portray themselves as a different person. It really becomes a sense of performance. What pictures are put up, what comments are shared and who they will be friends with.
It is especially affecting adolescents. They are in the precise moment of when they are forming their identities, a sense of who they really are. And what are they consumed with and obsessed about? The web, social media. It is a huge part of their life. My brother is an advocate. He is 15 and is constantly updating his status and talking with friends over FB. Once I saw 147 comments on one comment he posted. CRAZY!
One huge problem with so much time spent on it, is also the fact that they are constantly having to perform and who is doing the training for the performance? Who is the coach? Well it is media itself. It is what they watch and see on a daily bases. There isn't a place to go that is offline. No sense of security without the approval of the web or the public.
I want to ask you; are children changing who they would become because of social media? Are they letting it proclaim their identity?
Are you changing a part of you to perform/look and be something that you want others to see?
References:
http://www.virtuosimedia.com/business/social-media/keeping-your-identity-safe-on-facebook
http://abbicabanding.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/ten-commandments-for-keeping-your-online-identity-secured/
http://simonmainwaring.com/social-networking/sherry-turkle-of-mit-how-social-media-impacts-to-your-identity-part-2/
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Media--"Seeing, Not Reading Became the Basis for Believing"
The 20th century sparked my interested yesterday about how media has changed drastically over the last couple of centuries. Much of this post is thoughts and readings from the book "Amusing Ourselves To Death" by Neil Postman.
The forms of media has change by and through technological advances and through innovations. Also media has changed largely on how and why we use it.
Back in the 1700's media was in the form of newspapers and books--printed material. It was devoted to education, to reason for understanding. They tried to encompass all forms of education through the printed works. They believed that "to read law exclusively will damage the mind." (book) They believed in a well rounded education and learning, to dive into books and read everything they could.
Advertisements began in the late 1700's. They began as just written words that told readers the product or job plainly and simply. There was no catchy terms, nothing to suck you in. It wasn't until the 1800's that slogans and photographs/illustrations even became a part of advertisements and media. Also interestingly, they were to appeal to understanding, not to emotions or passions.
Does this sound like today? Well of course not. Media had morphed into a whole new giant. Instead of understanding through reading It is now seeing, not reading that has become the basis for believing. You know the quote "a picture is worth 100 words?" well its true. We can see, depict what's going on, and even feel what is being portrayed in the photograph.
Media didn't stop with photographs but continued on to television. Television as well as radio began as a means for news and governmental issues, this still takes place in 3rd world counties. They rely on talking heads which the government has a large influence on.
Television in our society is the means of understanding. How horrible! "The understanding of any subjects is slapped by the biases of television." (book) Are we believing the biases of media? The majority of television is not serious or realistic. Are we living in a made up world???
As we talked about in class, media can create a paradigm shift in the society and population. It can influence us without us even knowing it. Furthermore, the group spoke of how media began to start feeing off of us. Our likes, passions, what riles us up. Even education has been influenced by media.
I would like to pose a question, has education turned into an entertainment field? There are shows constantly on Tv that try to educate children and adults. Teachers are said to be better if they are more entertaining. It has went as far as virtual reality within some school systems.
What do you think? I see major benefits but I'm sure it has its downfalls.
To conclude, media has shaped us, groomed us whether we like it or not, to be more of the mind set that believing is seeing. We are influenced by its biases and without further research and study on our own, will we know the real truth.
How can we change the television culture of today?
Friday, February 24, 2012
Reflecting Back
Whenever I think of the word reflecting, I think of a really still pond of water and me looking into it, looking deep into myself. But really this isn't quite that deep but its always good to take a look back and see your progress.
Over the past semester I have found several topics that have stood out to me. They are the following:
--Education: This was a big one. I have primarily focused on how our education system has changed our culture and economy. Also I wrote a lot about how we aren't truly getting all we can out of our education, that they aren't providing us with an education that will benefit us as we go into the work field.
There are many ways to improve our education system and I mentioned several.
--Technology has changed our culture: It has affected our family settings, how many children we have, how much time we spend with them. It has affected us in our social interactions with others. We now have artificial intelligence that is a great asset but can be damaging to our interaction with others. Even in the realm of medicine, it has changed the doctor and patient interactions.
--Control: Governmental and Educational.
The government controls more then people understand and realize. I spoke of the example of farming in California and how the government shut down farms because they wanted to save an animal from extinction but really were damaging thousands of human lives and the economy in California.They have the ability to push and pull us around without much thought.
Educational control is shown through our conveyer belt school system. They tell us what to do and what to become and without it, we cannot go far in certain fields regardless of the experience we have.
One way I hit hard on to get out of the unwanted and unnecessary control is to use participation against it. Whether its collaborating via social media or through your community involvement, it is necessary to make a change.
I connected many of these topics to history and created a valid setting for belief. Education systems have made the big loop from control to less control to even more control now. Technology has continued to develop and changed and so has our culture and economy.
Even as I am writing this, I begin to see an overlying theme; to stand up and not be ignorant, nor let anyone take what's most important from you. If you want something bad enough, then take the steps to make the change. Don't let technology and the digital age destroy you, use it for your benefit!
--Education: This was a big one. I have primarily focused on how our education system has changed our culture and economy. Also I wrote a lot about how we aren't truly getting all we can out of our education, that they aren't providing us with an education that will benefit us as we go into the work field.
There are many ways to improve our education system and I mentioned several.
--Technology has changed our culture: It has affected our family settings, how many children we have, how much time we spend with them. It has affected us in our social interactions with others. We now have artificial intelligence that is a great asset but can be damaging to our interaction with others. Even in the realm of medicine, it has changed the doctor and patient interactions.
--Control: Governmental and Educational.
The government controls more then people understand and realize. I spoke of the example of farming in California and how the government shut down farms because they wanted to save an animal from extinction but really were damaging thousands of human lives and the economy in California.They have the ability to push and pull us around without much thought.
Educational control is shown through our conveyer belt school system. They tell us what to do and what to become and without it, we cannot go far in certain fields regardless of the experience we have.
One way I hit hard on to get out of the unwanted and unnecessary control is to use participation against it. Whether its collaborating via social media or through your community involvement, it is necessary to make a change.
I connected many of these topics to history and created a valid setting for belief. Education systems have made the big loop from control to less control to even more control now. Technology has continued to develop and changed and so has our culture and economy.
Even as I am writing this, I begin to see an overlying theme; to stand up and not be ignorant, nor let anyone take what's most important from you. If you want something bad enough, then take the steps to make the change. Don't let technology and the digital age destroy you, use it for your benefit!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Finnish Education--Leading in the World
Finnish education is nothing like ours (US). It is amazingly quite different and yet, as American's we believe that Asia and us are on the for-fronts of discovery and intelligence. This however is untrue. Did you know that Finland students are ranked in the top 3 for all categories of standardize testing (PISA, which tests a range of skill of knowledge)? It was not until the 1960's that Finland changed their education system after acknowledging voices that said that education has a direct impact on our economy. They soon realized this to be true and began the changes.
A question I would like to pose is; is the competitiveness within our country actually benefiting us? As Garrett Bassett mentioned, the competitiveness in part is what makes our country ours? It's growth in economy, entrepreneur philosophy etc... But what about now, as our economy is failing us? Could it all be a result from our education system? Could it be because it's too competitive, not enough people can gain educations?
To continue on with Finnish education, In the 1960's they began a top-down education system, restructuring their school systems to focus on equality. The have no private schools, no private universities and everyone who finished a level of education, can move on to the next. They moved from standardizing everything to no standardized tests at all and they letting each teacher test and assess how the student is doing individually. Finland also has more confidence in their professors, and they are looked up to within the society. I think this plays a part on the success of the education greatly.
"Since the 1980s, the main driver of Finnish education policy has been the idea that every child should have exactly the same opportunity to learn, regardless of family background, income, or geographic location." Reference There is no separation of classes. I would like to ask, what has happened? I believe that there is so much separation of classes now and it all started with John Dewey. He believed that dividing and making it noticeably different classes was a great idea. Dewey rearranged our whole education system back in the 1800's to what it is today. He implemented super structured schools, such as blocks of classes, scheduled and at the same time day after day with standardized tests.
Our education has had the whole turn around. It went from one-room schools, to factory schools and now, maybe we can go back to what it once was. Individualized.
In part, we can thank John Dewey for this great innovation......or NOT. Within the Finnish system, the amount of time they spend in school is far less, they don't start school until the age of 7, after they have had some time to grow up a little and play. They even stay with the same teacher year after year. The teacher then is able to aid in each child's learning and literally grows up with them.
I have heard that as you age your brain is constantly upgrading. That many people actually do better if they wait a year or so to start school and it is not forced upon them at such a young age. Like your brain is able to comprehend things better. This has happened to me personally in my life. I had a really challenging class, O-chem last year that I just could not get. I dropped it part way through and began taking it again this semester and it just seems to click so much better.--I want to research more on this subject.
There is so much to do and to consider in order to make the change of our educations system such as, How can you keep track of students' performance if you don't test them constantly? How can you improve teaching if you have no accountability for bad teachers? With such a big government run program, that is nation wide, how can you implement something new? Is there as way to run beta tests and keep revamping until golden?
Pasi Sahlberg, who is an expert on the Finnish education reform stated the following, "First, we don’t necessarily need new schools like charter schools to develop innovative educational changes in our school systems. First and foremost we need less standardization and testing in our schools. What we need more is flexibility, educational leadership, and trust in schools and teachers." http://www.pasisahlberg.com/blog/
This topic sparks my interests tremendously and I think could play such a huge role in the building back up of our economy and further supplying a nation with intelligent individuals who are ready to make a difference in the world.
References:
https://www.msu.edu/user/frassine/EAD845%20-%20Educational%20Reform%20in%20Finland.pdf
A question I would like to pose is; is the competitiveness within our country actually benefiting us? As Garrett Bassett mentioned, the competitiveness in part is what makes our country ours? It's growth in economy, entrepreneur philosophy etc... But what about now, as our economy is failing us? Could it all be a result from our education system? Could it be because it's too competitive, not enough people can gain educations?
To continue on with Finnish education, In the 1960's they began a top-down education system, restructuring their school systems to focus on equality. The have no private schools, no private universities and everyone who finished a level of education, can move on to the next. They moved from standardizing everything to no standardized tests at all and they letting each teacher test and assess how the student is doing individually. Finland also has more confidence in their professors, and they are looked up to within the society. I think this plays a part on the success of the education greatly.
"Since the 1980s, the main driver of Finnish education policy has been the idea that every child should have exactly the same opportunity to learn, regardless of family background, income, or geographic location." Reference There is no separation of classes. I would like to ask, what has happened? I believe that there is so much separation of classes now and it all started with John Dewey. He believed that dividing and making it noticeably different classes was a great idea. Dewey rearranged our whole education system back in the 1800's to what it is today. He implemented super structured schools, such as blocks of classes, scheduled and at the same time day after day with standardized tests.
Our education has had the whole turn around. It went from one-room schools, to factory schools and now, maybe we can go back to what it once was. Individualized.
In part, we can thank John Dewey for this great innovation......or NOT. Within the Finnish system, the amount of time they spend in school is far less, they don't start school until the age of 7, after they have had some time to grow up a little and play. They even stay with the same teacher year after year. The teacher then is able to aid in each child's learning and literally grows up with them.
I have heard that as you age your brain is constantly upgrading. That many people actually do better if they wait a year or so to start school and it is not forced upon them at such a young age. Like your brain is able to comprehend things better. This has happened to me personally in my life. I had a really challenging class, O-chem last year that I just could not get. I dropped it part way through and began taking it again this semester and it just seems to click so much better.--I want to research more on this subject.
There is so much to do and to consider in order to make the change of our educations system such as, How can you keep track of students' performance if you don't test them constantly? How can you improve teaching if you have no accountability for bad teachers? With such a big government run program, that is nation wide, how can you implement something new? Is there as way to run beta tests and keep revamping until golden?
Pasi Sahlberg, who is an expert on the Finnish education reform stated the following, "First, we don’t necessarily need new schools like charter schools to develop innovative educational changes in our school systems. First and foremost we need less standardization and testing in our schools. What we need more is flexibility, educational leadership, and trust in schools and teachers." http://www.pasisahlberg.com/blog/
This topic sparks my interests tremendously and I think could play such a huge role in the building back up of our economy and further supplying a nation with intelligent individuals who are ready to make a difference in the world.
References:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/
http://nepc.colorado.edu/blog/learn-from-finland-pasi-sahlberg
http://www.pasisahlberg.com/blog/
https://www.msu.edu/user/frassine/EAD845%20-%20Educational%20Reform%20in%20Finland.pdf
Friday, February 17, 2012
Autistic Children and Virtual Reality
Children with autism generally have problems with social interaction, language and behavior. Autistic children pay attention to the details and have a hard time focusing and grasping the main point.
As Dr. Zappala mentioned in class about how research has shown that autistic children do better in a interactive environment. Since then I've looked up a lot of great information on it and its amazing how much these children really do benefit from it.
There are many reasons why it has been show to help. Virtual reality and digital interaction can be designed to help the child focus and be apart of the learning process instead of just being lectured to for hours. Many have a touch screen, not as much movement and activity at a quick pace as the outside world, and less cues that can lead to distraction.
They have used this virtual training to help social skills such as interactions with piers, crossing intersections to restaurants etc. Also in the class room it has been a tremendous success.
“A teacher observing a child interacting in such a virtual environment may gain access to a range of behaviors from individual children that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to observe in a classroom,” Quote from a article on autism and digital technology. It just isn't possible to get those experiences like that in the class room, or is it? I think of not only those who are diagnosed with autism but those who deal with ADHD, ADD or maybe children who aren't auditory learners, who need interaction and hands on learning to really put it into memory or learn. Could this possible help more then just autistic individuals?
I know I harp on our education system quite often but as I research more on technology and the history of where our education has come and gone within the last 2 centuries, I'm finding more and more options that are plausible in a school setting. Many people think that having personal digital technology (ipads, smart phones, virtual reality games) in the class room setting will distract from the topic trying to be taught.
What do you think? I know that in college, technology on my lap can totally help me stay on task and learn better but many times it really does distract me because there are so many things I could do on that piece of technology (my computer).
If virtual realities and digital technology can help autistic children, why not everyone?
There are many reasons why it has been show to help. Virtual reality and digital interaction can be designed to help the child focus and be apart of the learning process instead of just being lectured to for hours. Many have a touch screen, not as much movement and activity at a quick pace as the outside world, and less cues that can lead to distraction.
They have used this virtual training to help social skills such as interactions with piers, crossing intersections to restaurants etc. Also in the class room it has been a tremendous success.
I know I harp on our education system quite often but as I research more on technology and the history of where our education has come and gone within the last 2 centuries, I'm finding more and more options that are plausible in a school setting. Many people think that having personal digital technology (ipads, smart phones, virtual reality games) in the class room setting will distract from the topic trying to be taught.
What do you think? I know that in college, technology on my lap can totally help me stay on task and learn better but many times it really does distract me because there are so many things I could do on that piece of technology (my computer).
If virtual realities and digital technology can help autistic children, why not everyone?
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Intelligence Smelligence...Who is Smarter?
Are computers really smarter than we are? Can they really do what we do? Is artificial intelligence really going to become better than us?
I want to put a firm stance that no, none of the above are true. It was human intellegence that programmed their intelligence. How can it be smarter than us? It is just another algorithm WE MADE! It solve problems, analyzes information and has a crazy large memory that far exceeds ours. Yes it can calculate faster than us, maybe even do tasks faster than us, but it can't make up for the lack of it's creative ability. It cannot take the place of face-to-face interaction with another human being. It doesn't have a heart....it's "artificial intelligence" not real intelligence.
I first thought about the "artificial" dogs or babies we had growing up....you know the ones that would bark or wag its tail when you pet it, or would cry and fuss if it "needed food or to be held?"
As a child I always thought these were so lame and not worth my time, although there were millions of children in the world that loved them and treated them like they were living. Was it the lack of attention these children needed or social interaction? Is artificial intelligence really trying to take its place?
What's crazy to me, and I think why many people believe that these machines are so much smarter is because of its ability to store memory and spit back information. But as we have discovered in this class is that that's not really what we want anyways. This education system is all about quickly learning the material and regurgitating it back out with no real thought put into it.
That is the beauty of us, as humans, we have the ability to take a step further and use and apply the new information we obtain in any direction or form we want. On the other hand artificial intelligence have to be programmed in, of what to do with the information, otherwise the information would be put in a blank file and never used. Once its actually put into our memory, we have the ability to retrieve that information and apply it however and whenever we want.
Now that I've hopefully convinced you that we are much smarter :) I would like to pose a few questions that have been on my mind about this subject.
What is artificial intelligence really doing to our social interaction with people?
Is it influencing our learning?
Is it affecting the value of ourselves?
I first thought about the "artificial" dogs or babies we had growing up....you know the ones that would bark or wag its tail when you pet it, or would cry and fuss if it "needed food or to be held?"
What's crazy to me, and I think why many people believe that these machines are so much smarter is because of its ability to store memory and spit back information. But as we have discovered in this class is that that's not really what we want anyways. This education system is all about quickly learning the material and regurgitating it back out with no real thought put into it.
That is the beauty of us, as humans, we have the ability to take a step further and use and apply the new information we obtain in any direction or form we want. On the other hand artificial intelligence have to be programmed in, of what to do with the information, otherwise the information would be put in a blank file and never used. Once its actually put into our memory, we have the ability to retrieve that information and apply it however and whenever we want.
Now that I've hopefully convinced you that we are much smarter :) I would like to pose a few questions that have been on my mind about this subject.
What is artificial intelligence really doing to our social interaction with people?
Is it influencing our learning?
Is it affecting the value of ourselves?
.
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