Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Experiences with Second LIfe

So recently I have been exploring the on-line community that goes by second life, and wow am I blown away. I think it's really cool that such an on-line community exists in which anyone in this world can join. It is kind of weird that one can go to Tokyo and chat with random people, but that simple idea is really mind blowing. However, even though I think it's a great program, I really don't prioritize it as something in my life. As a teacher in the inner-city I'm just trying to be the best teacher that I can for my kids, and when I do have time off from teaching and grad school, I want to rest. And to be completely honest, even if I had more time on my hands, I still wouldn't be on second life much. Even though I think it's a great concept and program, it is not the type of thing I would spend my time on. It serves as a great resource, but it definitely is not a hobby for me.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Are we allowing kids to be kids?

So I read this article recently(Childhood's End: Growing Up Too Fast. http://www.edutopia.org/childhoods-end-accountability-forces-children-grow-up-too-fast), and had this to say.

Unfortunately an article like this has to be written in order to realize what's happening to our children. I teach high school students who come from tough neighborhoods and witness more than most people do by the age of 15. I remember the day my 17-20 year old students went crazy for some stickers as a prize. Or the day they enjoyed working on a Spanish color by number worksheet, even though most of them had seen someone get shot, or on drugs, and even sell drugs, they were kids. It is very sad to think that our children are feeling this pressure at the age of 5, an age that I was able to enjoy by playing outside or coloring, I was a kid. This disappearance of the traditional childhood is an injustice that our society is doing to our future, so lets make sure that as parents, future parents, or teachers, we remember that our children are KIDS.

What do you think?

Friday, September 25, 2009

Avatars and Authenticity

After reading this article, I see dead people: Kurt Cobain and the Humanity of Avatars(http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-see-dead-people-kurt-cobain-and.html) I was taken back the popularity of Avatars and the issues it is causing when it comes to the duplication of some popular stars. I think Courtney Love is just out for the money because true fans of Kurt Cobain know that his image is not affected by his avatar singing Bon Jovi music. On the other hand I do understand that it can be disrespectful to some artists who have created an image that took years and hard work, and with some simple clicks their image can be ruined. The question is whether the artists' image is actually affected. I guess it depends on the artists and the act that may cause a change to the original image of that person.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Who needs TV or Marvel?

So last week I discovered some really cool websites that I had no idea existed. However two really caught my attention and time, hulu and pixton. I had heard of hulu, but never visited the website, and WOW! was it awesome. It had every TV series for free...in HD quality. As an avid office fan, I was excited since I miss the new episodes on Thursdays due to Hopkins classes. Thanks to hulu though, that's okay, who says you need TIVO? If you haven't discovered hulu please go now, it is amazing.
The other great website I learned about was Pixton. Through Pixton one can basically become Marvel comics because you get to create your own comic, it's great. Not only do I find it fun, but useful for my classroom. As a Spanish teacher, I am able to create Spanish dialogues between characters I create, and have my students answer questions about it. Before Pixton I would only write the dialogues, now I can give my students a visual representation of them. I'm thinking about making this into some type of project for my Spanish 2 class next semester. I had planned to have them write an autobiography, but that might change into a comic instead.
In the end, if you're oblivious to Hulu or Pixton please google them now and get ready to get blown away.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Thoughts on a lesson from google apps for education

I just recently learned about google apps for education, an amazing tool which allows you to incorporate technology into your classroom.  It's definitely the kind of tool that makes you realize how google is taking over the world.  Anyways here's the link to the lesson,http://miramonte.acalanes.k12.ca.us/bbcswebdav/institution/MHSwebsite/sojourn07/Journey/Welcome.html

I thought the lesson was breathtaking, it used technology to bring the past to life.  Through google earth it was able to capture the images of the civil right locations the students were studying.  Students were even able to communicate through blogging.  It is a great example of what should be going on in classrooms all over our country, however the reality of the situation is a lack of resources.  My students would love to use technology in this way, but not all of them have easy access to computers, and I don't have a classroom set of computers.  While I agree with the increase of technology in the classroom, I also recognize the obstacles faced by many inner-city public schools and its students.  Most of my students only have access to computers in school therefore sending them home with assignment that require blogging can be a problem.  This year I have incorporated more technology into my classroom, but my hope is to reach a level that parallels this lesson plan.  

My reply to a post on weblogg-ed

So a week ago I replied to a post on weblogg-ed.com, here's the link, http://weblogg-ed.com/2009/raising-the-profession/#comments.    Check it out, and tell me what you think.  *This was my comment on it


I totally agree with you, as a teacher myself in inner-city Baltimore, I’m always asked the same questions, so why do you do it? You can be making so much more money for the hours you put in? It’s quite sad that our society here in the states sees educators the way it does. In countries such as Finland and Sweden, public education is phenomenal. This is because teachers are respected as if they were doctors or lawyers, thus creating a system where some of the smartest people out there want to get into this profession.

Experience on twitter so far for a newbie

When I first heard of twitter, I was disappointed in society.  I thought, "nothing is personal anymore, everyone wants to know what each other is doing 24/7".  Not only this, but I had no idea how anyone had time for this, a status update for everything, I have a life to live.  In reality there are many people who do use twitter in this way, however there is another use of twitter, a more professional one.  I realized thanks to my Paperless Classroom class at Johns Hopkins, that twitter is a resource if used in that way.  Thanks to twitter I am able to connect to thousands of educators, and share ideas.  Even though I find myself very busy most of the time, and can't find the time to twitter, I do know that I have a 24/7 resource there when I need it.  

Thoughts on #edchat

AMAZING!  As an educator I know that one never has to reinvent the wheel, someone before has done it before, or has great advice/ideas.  Through #edchat at twitter I am able to contact a plethora of educators who can give me advice, or I can help.  Communication between educators has never been easier, I love the resource that #edchat is.  One is able to gather research, find lesson plans, solve problems in the classroom, exchange ideas, give advice, receive constructive criticism, etc...  So please if you are an educator join the community on twitter, and after any question, idea, or thought you have related to education or your classroom, type in #edchat.  Hope to see you there soon

My thoughts of the paperless classroom

11) I thought the video was amazing, it added to the connotation of how behind many americans are.  It's very interesting how we are the "most" powerful country in the world, but we fall behind in some many important areas, such as health care and education.  I definitely plan to show the video to my class one day, it would definitely be an eye opener to them.

2) Right off the bat I was really intrigued by the class, especially the demeanor of Shelly.  He was so calm and different from most hopkins professors.  I look forward to the class, but without question find it hard to keep up with all these social networking things.  It was hard enough to keep up with on-line accounts, e-mails, and facebook, so adding all these other things seems overwhelming especially when you barely understand the whole twitter thing.   I thought the video was amazing, it added to the connotation of how behind many americans are.  It's very interesting how we are the "most" powerful country in the world, but we fall behind in some many important areas, such as health care and education.  I definitely plan to show the video to my class one day, it would definitely be an eye opener to them.

2) Right off the bat I was really intrigued by the class, especially the demeanor of Shelly.  He was so calm and different from most hopkins professors.  I look forward to the class, but without question find it hard to keep up with all these social networking things.  It was hard enough to keep up with on-line accounts, e-mails, and facebook, so adding all these other things seems overwhelming especially when you barely understand the whole twitter thing.  

President Obama's speech to the future of the US

So yesterday during my lunch between my 3rd and 4th period I watched President Obama's speech to the students of the US.  The speech was honest and definitely pushed students to continue their education, most importantly he asked to students to hold each other accountable for their education.  Unfortunately I know most students have heard this speech before, and many of them have ignored it.  The problem with public education in the U.S. has an abundance of layers.  We first need to differentiate between most city schools and those in the suburbs.  The state of Maryland is nationally recognized for its public education, however the statistics fail to mention that Baltimore City graduates below 50% of its seniors.  I love the kids of Baltimore City, its why I teach here, they have as much potential as any other students in this country, but it seems that our society is too selfish to fix this problem.   Even though I commend President Obama for his speech to the students of our nation, I would like for him to address the students of the inner cities who have been left behind.  We expect our students to test at the same levels, but we don't offer them the same education.  It is unfathomable to set high expectations for every student in this country when we do not give them the tools necessary to meet those expectations.  Our society needs to focus on fixing the achievement gap that exist in our education system, I only hope that President Obama is the leader who appropriately addresses this issue.  

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Save money through twitter

So I just read about 5 ways one can save money through twitter.
1-You can find deals
2-Save on gas: some thing exist that allows you to see your mileage and gas price
3-Budget better
4-Collect debts
5-Avoid bad investments

If you want more details, go to the following link: http://mashable.com/2009/06/18/twitter-save-money/

Twitter+15 must follow comedic film actors

This article stated how cool it is that through twitter you can follow celebrities. After this it listed 15 comedic actors, in my opinion the only good one was Dwight Schrute(Rainn Wilson). The Office Season 5 out on Tuesday, whoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!