Blog 5

1.  The concept of “Multitasking Media” in Dr. Robert’s presentation was fascinating. I have never really thought about the environment my students work in while completing their homework. I  know that they (as do I) love their iPods, cell phones, and Facebook accounts but I didn’t think about all of those working at the same time my students are “working” on assignments. I wonder if students know how distracting these outside forces are and if they even think about “un-plugging” for the time it takes to complete their work?
2.   The NY Times article “More Pupils Are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality” address the new trend of online courses for credit recovery and even AP classes. My question is always: does this help students learn? Liz Pape, president of the Virtual High School Global Consortium states, “If credit recovery were working, the need for remedial classes in college would be declining — but the opposite is true.” This shows that learning is not really taking place. Online classes seem like “chair time” so that students can get (not really earn) a diploma.
3.   Dublin High School is starting to add these unit recovery classes for students that failed one or more of their classes. We tell the students every year that we don’t know if there will be summer school. Funding for summer school is getting harder to find and yet graduation requirements have intensified. Administration at my school seems to believe these online classes are a magical answer for students that failed multiple classes. I am not convinced that these online classes are actually teaching the students the material that they previously couldn’t grasp. Are these classes just an easy fix to keep parents quiet and students graduating?
4.  

•   http://download.cnet.com/Cool-Timer/3000-2350_4-10062255.html I love it. I’m always telling my students “Watch the clock.” “Make sure you are using your time wisely.” This will be a great visual for my students and me as I am walking around the room. This will also be great for timed tests. 
• http://www.openoffice.org/ This is great for students that do not have the Microsoft and can’t afford to get it. I am curious to see if the computers at my school will be able to read this program. We have trouble when students send documents to school using technology that is more advanced than what we currently have at the high school.
• http://www.glogster.com/ I often have my students create a “one-pager” for the poem, play or novel we are reading. The “one-pager” has students present what they feel about the reading rather than just give a summary of the text. This is a great way to expand that assignment and give students another way to present their ideas. I love the idea of using pictures, quotes, and even video clips to create this animated page.
• http://www.tubechop.com/ I am going to use this every time I create a new Prezi. I love being able to show clips to illustrate my points when presenting a Prezi to my class. Currently, I have to fast forward a couple of clips because I couldn’t find the exact part I wanted but now I can go back and edit those clips. This is really going to improve my presentations.