Blog Assignment 6

1.The Networked Student
I found this video to be very helpful in explaining the "networked student" to me. It is a good deal of information to process especially when we were raised in a "traditional" student and teacher learning environment where everything is taught off of the chalkboard and the internet was used for research papers. This is a whole new ball game we have entered.
Students in this century must have the skills to be able to master technology. That is their learning tool! The future is now. The tools available to the students and to the teachers alike are so useful and should not be wasted. This is so important to grasp. In this video, the networked student basically built his own online textbook. He had no psych book for the class. His networking and web searching helped him build his own. This is so helpful to him and also to his classmates. His classmates can see the information he has gathered. What a powerful tool this is! This way of teaching is so very different, but so very opportune if taught the correct way!
It is the teacher's job to teach a networked student in a few ways. For starters, the networked student is not going to know where to begin. The teacher is there to help him or her to begin with building their network. The teacher's job also is to help him with any questions he may have with setting up his network, adding onto it, etc. Also, the teacher is there to help him distinguish what is a reliable site and what is not. The guidance of the teacher is so important.
I think my favorite part about this is that the student makes his or her own textbook while learning to network and search for information. To me, the best kind of learning is when you do it yourself. So, if the student would like a text for the class, he or she must go out and basically build it. They will learn so much more doing that than being given a textbook that they probably wouldn't open anyway. If you decide not to build yours, then it only hurts you, the student. This is so great. This is such an imperative thing to teach and to prepare our students for!


2. A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment
This is awesome. I can't believe she is only in 7th grade. Looking back on my 7th grade year, we had to sign permission forms to use the internet at school. This is how she learns at school. This is amazing. She is so organized. Her PLN is so organized, thought-out, and efficient. I will definitely use some of her techniques if not many to do my PLN. She made me want to make my entire one today. I know it will take some time to get everything in your PLN, but it made me eager to get a jump on it! She is inspiring. This can and will take learning to a whole new level.


3. Critiques of Smartboards
Why Smartboards are a Dumb Initiative
Michael Staton in his stand against smartboards argues the cost efficient side. He says they are too expensive for what they are and that you can do the same thing with different programs.

Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards
Bill Ferriter also thinks that interactive whiteboards are too expensive and that don't do any thing positive for the students or the teacher. He gave his away after using it for a year. In his post he quoted:
"Most of the time, interactive whiteboard programs are, in fact, nothing more than vain attempts to buy change. Rarely paired with a clear vision of the classrooms we’d like to see, a set of tangible objectives that can be measured, or any systematic attempts to evaluate outcomes, these high-priced contraptions are sad examples of the careless decision-making and waste that
are crippling some of our schools and systems."


I found a site that promotes Interactive Whiteboard use. On this site, Dr. Mary Ann Bell, Assistant Professor of Library Science at Sam Houston State University in  Hunstville, Texas has a list of a few reasons why interactive whiteboards are so great. The website is http://www.waukeshaschools.com/WIT/smartBoard/benefits.htm. On this page, she also gives a link for the full text of reasons instead of just the points. I went to this site and it is very interesting. She makes a great argument towards the use of IWB's.  http://teachers.net/gazette/JAN02/mabell.html