Skype!

I Skyped for the first time this weekend! I made a video call to Rita, the teacher of my EdTech class. I actually was quite impressed with the quality of the call. The only problem was that my voice would drop every so often. this probably due the quality of the built in microphone on my laptop and not Skype itself.

Next week I take Skyping to a new level when I attempt to Skype with my class from Las Vegas! I guess what happens in Vegas won't stay in Vegas!

Google, Google, Google

I am not sure why but I have always had a little prejudice against Google. i feel the same way about Microsoft. It might be the conspiracy theorist in me, but I just don't trust them! That being said, I must admit that this class has opened my eyes at least a little to the value of the applications that Google offers. I think that GoogleDocs is a very effective tool for collaborating on a project. GoogleEarth is just cool (and a little creepy).

A Vision of Students Today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=dGCJ46vyR9o

I watched this clip and was struck by a few things. the interesting thing to me is that most of the items that caught my eye had more to do with the educational process and the atmosphere in the classroom than the uses of technology or social media. The first statement that shocked me was that only 18% of teachers know their students names. If this is true, it is a real shame. Another statement was that only 26% of classroom material is relevant to students lives. I believe that this is probably more a case of the students not seeing the relevancy when it is really there. It is our job as educators to help students make the connection between the material and their lives.