Here are my thoughts concerning the YouTube introduction we were asked to do. First, my drawl gets worse and worse every year. People used to think I was from the North because I didn't have an accent, but now there's no mistaking that I'm an NC native.
Secondly, uploading to YouTube was simple. Google has spent the last few weeks streamlining a lot of their services and YouTube is obviously one of them. After signing in I was just a few click away from an uploaded video. They also do a good job with their privacy settings. I don't know that I want my students to see every family movie I may put online.
I used a Aiptek HD Flip cam ripoff because they were so much cheaper a few years ago. I was happy with both the sound and video quality, especially because the camera was only $50.
Oh, and I also need to shave.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Objectives
I would like to leave this course with the following
- A concise definition of Web 2.0
- Clear understanding of Web 2.0 technologies
- Practical classroom applications of said technologies
- An understanding of social media limitations in public schools (primarily legal concerns)
- The technical know-how to troubleshoot potential problems
Monday, January 30, 2012
Web 2.0 definition
This assignment would have been easier if it was done through Google Docs. Changes could have occurred in real time and we could have discussed any changes we wanted to make prior to making them. Twitter may have worked too. It would have forced us to keep our definitions concise which could have made it easier to understand.
"Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that easily allow the user to share information and collaborate. When I think of Web 2.0, I think of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, but also interactive sites like Moodle, Gaggle and the dreaded Blackboard. Wikipedia, and blogs are also social media sites. But, Web 2.0 goes beyond these. Web 2.0 is any website that is interactive, allowing the site viewer to make an entry to the website, whether that entry is a “like”, “+1”, “friend”, “comment”, “clarification” or question. Web 2.0 sites should grow and improve with user input and never remain stagnant."
"Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that easily allow the user to share information and collaborate. When I think of Web 2.0, I think of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, but also interactive sites like Moodle, Gaggle and the dreaded Blackboard. Wikipedia, and blogs are also social media sites. But, Web 2.0 goes beyond these. Web 2.0 is any website that is interactive, allowing the site viewer to make an entry to the website, whether that entry is a “like”, “+1”, “friend”, “comment”, “clarification” or question. Web 2.0 sites should grow and improve with user input and never remain stagnant."
First week reflections
The thing I want my students to leave my class with most - more than even their historical knowledge - is to begin with the end in mind. Knowing where you are going forces your mind to make a plan, whether you realize it or not. I start every unit plan by writing my test for the unit so I can make certain that I've taught everything I need and so I appropriately pace my lessons. Having students look at the final exam, understand it's length, digest the questions, shows they how they need to think through my course. The first week of my class is all skills based and the rest of the course is spent using those skills to understand history so they're able to master the final.
Because of this character trait, the first week of this class has been difficult. Like I'm sure many people will say, I didn't know what I was doing at first. I didn't know who was in the class, who was setting up the Google Groups account (I'm still curious how many of them were set up) or how to use the ASU class website. I'm still not sure where we're going, but it's nice to be on this ride with some friendly faces, even if I've never met them in person. I'm just glad our professor has been on this ride a few times and, even if we're not sure where we're going, he is.
Because of this character trait, the first week of this class has been difficult. Like I'm sure many people will say, I didn't know what I was doing at first. I didn't know who was in the class, who was setting up the Google Groups account (I'm still curious how many of them were set up) or how to use the ASU class website. I'm still not sure where we're going, but it's nice to be on this ride with some friendly faces, even if I've never met them in person. I'm just glad our professor has been on this ride a few times and, even if we're not sure where we're going, he is.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Welcome
Welcome to the blog of Neil Schledorn, history teacher in central NC and tech enthusiast. First, some background:
I've been interested in computers as long as I can remember. My first PC was an IBM 8086 with dual 5.25" floppy drives. I used to spend hours tinkering with DOS so I could play such amazing games as Legacy of the Ancients and Dr. Doom's Revenge. As cliche as it sounds, I learned about computers because I wanted to play video games. Popping a disk into an XBOX is nothing like allocating memory in DOS just to get a game to play.
On that same computer I learned a bit of BASIC programming and wrote a simple program that would allow me to catalog my comic books.
Following the 8086 my family moved up to a Pentium 133 and that introduced me to Windows. A new OS came with new challenges. Now it was getting my old games to work with the new system. Thankfully Windows 95 still had native DOS support so there was not too much to figure out.
Fast forwarding a few years saw me in high school. There I took all of the computer classes I could, basic typing, HTML, C++, hardware, and networking. While in high school I also found that I had a passion for history. I was not until college that I really decided to persue that passion.
When I first became an undergrad my plan was to graduate with a degree in computer science and find a job in an office somewhere. After one year I decided that route wasn't for me and I changed my hobby, history, into my career. I worked towards a history, secondary education degree which I earned in 2004. I've been teaching at the same school ever sense and love every minute of it.
I've been interested in computers as long as I can remember. My first PC was an IBM 8086 with dual 5.25" floppy drives. I used to spend hours tinkering with DOS so I could play such amazing games as Legacy of the Ancients and Dr. Doom's Revenge. As cliche as it sounds, I learned about computers because I wanted to play video games. Popping a disk into an XBOX is nothing like allocating memory in DOS just to get a game to play.
On that same computer I learned a bit of BASIC programming and wrote a simple program that would allow me to catalog my comic books.
Following the 8086 my family moved up to a Pentium 133 and that introduced me to Windows. A new OS came with new challenges. Now it was getting my old games to work with the new system. Thankfully Windows 95 still had native DOS support so there was not too much to figure out.
Fast forwarding a few years saw me in high school. There I took all of the computer classes I could, basic typing, HTML, C++, hardware, and networking. While in high school I also found that I had a passion for history. I was not until college that I really decided to persue that passion.
When I first became an undergrad my plan was to graduate with a degree in computer science and find a job in an office somewhere. After one year I decided that route wasn't for me and I changed my hobby, history, into my career. I worked towards a history, secondary education degree which I earned in 2004. I've been teaching at the same school ever sense and love every minute of it.
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