Edible Schoolyard and Global Village

The Edible Schoolyard is an amazing way to incorporate several subjects into one project. This teacher had the students plant and harvest food. When the food was ready, they were able to cook and eat it as well. This is a great hands on experiment and I love the way it teaches the children material and relates to real life at the same time. Children sometimes have a hard time understanding why they have to learn the material and when they will have to use what they have learned in the real world. This kind of teaching is a great way to help the children understand and comprehend the use it had in society.

A Night in the Global Village is a great way to educate students about other cultures. They were able to see first hand how families in other cultures live and some of the problems they face. This teaches the students that hunger and poverty are more prominent in other countries and just how privileged Americans are. Most of us that are born and raised in America don't really understand the severity of the situations present in other countries. When you are able to experience that, it really makes you appreciate your country.

iTunes University

Honestly, I had not heard of iTunes university until today. iTunes University is a section of iTunes that provides educational materials from some of the top universities in the U.S. It's easy to use, because you can control how you search. You can search by categories, particular universities, or iTunes search and filter the results to fit you needs. Once you find what you are looking for you can download the material and/or subscribe to receive any new updates.

This is a great way for teachers to incorporate different styles of learning. Also, teachers can send digital lessons to their students, and the students can review the lessons when it's convenient for them. The students just download the lessons to their iPods and can have it with them at all times. This allows students to study more often. Personally, I feel this would help students progress better and have more efficient scores on tests.

iPod use in Schools

During my research, I found a site, http://cit.duke.edu/pdf/reports/ipods_initiative_04_05.pdf, about Duke University. According to the site, in 2004, Duke University handed out free iPods to incoming freshmen students. The purpose was to incorporate more technology into instruction. It was a success. The students and teachers loved it. Teachers altered their lesson plans for the use of iPods. Many teachers would have their students do podcasts instead of research papers. This made it more interesting for the students, and they did not dread the assignment.

I also found httl://learninginhand/ipod/indeex.html which is a very useful site for people that are unfamiliar with iPods. The site allows you to either choose iPod Touch or iPod with click wheels, and it is divided into different sections. Each section tells what it can be used for and how to use it. I could definitely use an iPod just to have a dictionary on hand at all times.

Dr. Christie's Website

Dr. Alice Christie has developed a wonderful website for educators. The website is located at www.alicechristie.org. I encourage all teachers to check this website out. This site is easily accessible and well organized. The site is divided into various tabs for easy maneuverability.

A few things that interested me as a future educator included Educational Technology and Google Earth. I think Google Earth is a great tool for the classroom. You can explore any area you are studying in your classroom. Another topic on her site involved internet safety. This is also very important when dealing with young children. It is very important to educate students and parents about the dangers of internet use and what precautions teachers and parents can do to protect the students.

Wikipedia

I have always been told that Wikipedia is not a reliable source. I have even had instructors that have forbid the use of Wikipedia on research papers. After reading the articles, I personally will not use Wikipedia. Virgil Griffith invented a Wikipedia scanner that can tell whether or not information has been changed. The scanner can tell who, when, and what information was changed and can even trace it back to the computer the change was made on. It is also able to distinguish if any information has been deleted. The scanner helps Wikipedia become a more reliable source, but in my opinion, it is just to much work. When you are doing research, it is always important to get information from a variety of sources to insure the information is accurate, but not many people want to waste their time with a source that is known to be unreliable.