SPARQ - SPARQ Training

SPARQ - SPARQ Training

Futurist: To fix education, think Web 2.0: The evolution of the Internet can facilitate this approach, Web 2.0 tools, such as wikis and blogs; make information sharing and content creation easier.
I do agree with this approach. The wiki space that was developed for our class is an excellent resource for all the students in the class. For the 80 students or so in our class we are all connected through this wiki space, all the information you need is right there in front of us, it is also very user friendly. We can correspond to anybody in the class by just clicking on a link. Unlike some online classes I have taken which involved linking up to a server, using specialize software, usernames and passwords, wiki spaces and blogging is a way much easier way to communicate with a group of people.
"With every new piece of technology, to make this technology work, you have to change your teaching practices," Seely Brown said. "
I do believe that this type of teaching will only work for the experience students. This works for me but some students in our class (ED 4862) are having a hard time with this technology. Just having to open an account for some is very stressful and time consuming. At the Secondary level I believe that this would only work for students that have the capabilities to work with technology and others in a group. Some students that works in a group tend to hide in the corner and if a student doesn’t know the language of the technology being used they just would become a ghost in the project. Just like anything, it is easy to fall behind if you are not familiar with the information and it’s even easier to get left behind in technology. But at the same time, its just as easy getting caught with technology.

In the hidden price of technology in the schools Healy concludes, "several responsible educators I interviewed deem up to 85 percent of current software not only 'worthless' but possibly damaging.
In my experience with the students I worked with in alternative is that technology and software makes it too easy for them. Example, I have a grade eight student that uses Rosetta Stone for French and he admits that we hasn’t learn anything from it even though he is making his way through the program. I see him use it as a video game, `Most times he just guesses the answer`. He does the work on the program because it’s in the curriculum and he can’t stay in the class during French because of his behavior. I do believe that most kids guess the answer and their class marks to not match their capability to comprehend French.
In Epic 2015 shows us the future and I believe it, in 2001 after 911 people were scared that their privacy was going to be invaded by the government in search of terrorist. It’s not going to be the Government sneaking into our lives, it going to be Google. Microsoft and Google are become so powerful that it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if somehow they find a way to buy the planet and rename it Planet Google. There are going to be so many ways to educate our future, schools are going to become very high-tech, but I believe you will never replace a teacher.

My last Post.

T GIDDY will be going offline soon, I started this blog for class and it was fun but I wish I really had the time for it, most times everything was so rush. Yesterday I put my first video and sideshow on here using Photobucket, its not much and I capable of doing better work but it was just a test, that's why there is no story to it. I wish I had more time to really get to know how to use all the different types of options blogger has to offer. I`m one of those guys that only uses technology if its an advantage for me. I have to admit that I will probably never blog again, but I will definitely use Photobucket. It funny how I never heard of it before, I love the fact that it is so easy to use and you can access it from anywhere. I do see myself getting into design, I like making logos and posters. I need to find something out there that can lead me down this path. I got to learn how to use Photoshop and Adobe Photo. Until next time, Peace in the Middle East.

Tyler Gideon

My First SlideShow

Blog reading becomes a habit, study says

News Reading a blog can become as much of a habit as checking e-mail, a new study looking at readers, rather than bloggers, suggests.
Researchers from the University of California-Irvine presented their study, which they said was the first to look in depth at the readers of blogs, on Wednesday at the Association for Computing Machinery Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) in Florence, Italy.
In a release, they said that previous studies about blogs have typically focused on the writers, "largely overlooking those who go online to read, comment and participate."
With an estimated 57 million adults in the United States reading blogs in July 2006, doctoral candidate Eric Baumer, undergraduate student Mark Sueyoshi and informatics professor Bill Tomlinson decided to look at the relationship between blogs and their readers.
Canvassing participants online and through printed flyers, the researchers tracked the in-depth blog reading habits of 15 participants aged 18 to 31 through interviews, data logging software and questionnaires. The participants all identified themselves as blog readers and checked at least five different blogs two to three times per week.
They found that regular blog reading can become "an internet ritual," with the content secondary to the process of checking for new posts. The researchers said this is much like the routine of checking e-mail regardless of whether a new message is expected or not.
"Sometimes, even the usefulness of the blog content itself can be less vital than the activity of reading or skimming the blog to fulfill a person's particular routine," they said in a release.
The researchers also found that the date and frequency of the posts matters little to the readers, but the position of the entry on the page is important.
The report said that readers are more likely to read the most recent posts, unconcerned about age, and that they were not bothered when they couldn't read every post.
"Some would eventually catch up on old posts when the time suited them, while others simply choose the more recent or most interesting posts to read, skipping the rest," the researchers wrote. "This attitude challenges the commonly accepted notion that users feel overwhelmed with staying constantly up to date."
"A missed post is not usually a missed opportunity."
Other findings of the report included:
- Most participants considered reading blogs a form of "chilling out" or "wasting time."
- There is no firm definition of a blog, with participants pointing to aspects such as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds and trackback links, as well as personal content and comments.
- Most definitions of blogs from participants included the word "journal" or "diary."
- Readers feel pressured to produce worthwhile comments in response to good posts.
- Readers are more likely to post on blogs belonging to their friends than on mainstream sites.
"With the increased popularity of blogs, various tools like Blogger and Movable Type have made writing a blog easy for a wide audience," said Baumer in a release. "But, until the technology embraces the role of the audience, the full social potential of blogging remains untapped.
"One of the goals of this research is to stimulate the development of tools to foster that social potential in terms of both readers and bloggers."
Such tools, the researchers said, include a logging tool to help bloggers learn about their readers and target content for them or a blog habit tracker for readers.

http://technology.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/Blog+reading+becomes+a+habit+study+says/News/ContentPosting.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=blog-readers&feedname=CBC-TECH-SCIENCE&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True

Virginia now requiring Internet safety classes in school

All those episodes of To Catch a Predator must have finally hit home for the Virginia legislature. The state is now requiring that public schools (all grade levels) teach "Internet safety" to their students. 2007-08 is the first school year the rules have been in effect. It is the first time a state has mandated such classes.
Many studies show that Internet solicitations are a real problem for underage kids. In 2006 the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said that 13 percent of kids aged 10 to 17 who used the Internet received sexual advances over the web. That's significant.
There appear to be few guidelines on what these Internet safety classes should look like or what they should teach. This 17-page PDF offered by the state of Virginia is heavy on enforcing school Acceptable Use Policies while offering suggestions on where Internet safety can be incorporated into virtually all types of classes (rather than suggesting standalone courses). English teachers might encourage writing about Internet safety as an essay topic, while history teachers may offer children "Safety Tips With Officer Buckle and Gloria." Many of the suggestions, however, are not focused on Internet safety, per se, but are rather about netiquette, awareness of inaccuracies in online advertising, and discussing public policy issues related to the Internet. Much of the education appears to be focused on assemblies with guest speakers.
I'm all for teaching kids a thing or two about how to behave on the web, and what to watch out for while they're online. But while they're at it, how about



http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/null/88814

Teaching with Tech: Does it Work?

By Adam Hunter, special to MSN Tech & Gadgets

Are students in the digital age getting dumber?
Students today don't just write papers—they create PowerPoint presentations, design Web pages, and take tests using interactive software. The rise of these computer-based technologies over the past decade has been heralded as a boon for education. However, stories abound of students repeating inaccurate facts from sources like Wikipedia, peppering their papers with instant message lingo or wasting study time on Facebook. These concerns have caused some educators to take a more critical view. Are students merely learning how to use computers, but not actually learning?
A 2005 Pew Research survey of more than 1,000 pairs of parents and their teenage children found 80 percent of parents and 86 percent of teens believe the internet helps kids do better in school. If technology is dumbing students down, it's doing it without their knowledge.

OMG! My Paper RoX!
Another concern of educators is that the language skills of younger students are suffering because of constant use of text messaging and instant messaging. The fear is that abbreviations and syntax used in these short communications can cross over into a student's schoolwork. New Zealand made headlines last year when their educational Qualifications Authority announced it would accept the use of “text-speak” in answers on their national exams. One can imagine that far in the future, when history is written in the abbreviated, text-message language that has swept the globe, New Zealand may very well be regarded as the only country in our primitive 21st century that had the foresight to capitulate to the inevitable victory of technological convenience over proper spelling.
"Students are particularly tempted to use abbreviations when they’re rushed for time. So it makes sense that they would be tempted to use abbreviations on a timed exam," says Mignon Fogarty, author of Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Clean Up Your Writing. Fogarty believes that when kids text habitually, they in effect train themselves in writing a form of shorthand. "Kids seem to be sending text messages almost constantly, and it's considered normal to use abbreviations when you’re texting. Imagine what it would be like if every student had extensive training in shorthand and they used shorthand every day. They'd be tempted to use it on their homework and exams. They might even slip into using abbreviations unconsciously."
Oppenheimer isn't surprised. "If schools don’t have the guts to address this, then that says something about the sad state of our schools," he says. "There’s no job in the real world that allows writing in IM lingo."
Laptops in Class
More and more professors are allowing laptops into the classroom for note taking purposes. However, a recent study conducted at Winona State University in Minnesota found that laptops in class actually interfered with students learning the material. On average, the students spent 17 minutes out of a 75-minute class doing activities not related to class work. 81 percent of students admitted to checking e-mail, 68 percent reported using instant messaging, 43 percent surfed the internet, and 25 percent played games. The study also found students with laptops earned an average grade five percent lower than those who didn’t bring computers.
Leyes allows laptops in his classroom, but keeps a close eye on how they’re used. "My rule is they are fine to take notes with, but if I catch you doing non-course related stuff, the penalty is pretty severe," he says. "It’s easy to tell when people are taking notes and when they are playing solitaire or instant messaging."
The Digital Classroom
Despite these reservations, a new generation of teachers is embracing high tech educational tools. Erica Braverman, 26, began her teaching career two years ago at a school in a low-income area in Brooklyn, New York, and in her view, the lack of available technology hurt the students' education.
"Kids are drawn to technology and it’s not wise to not incorporate that into how they are taught,” Braverman says. “Podcasts are a fun way for students to learn about a topic that might have otherwise seemed dull reading out of a textbook. Many schools have adopted the use of blogs, wikis and podcasts into their learning environment, and it really gives the students a voice in their educational process."
In fact, when Braverman recently got a new job as a 6th-grade Language Arts/Social Studies teacher at a school in New Jersey, the superintendent suggested she use the popular online virtual world, Second Life , to teach students lessons about community building and communication. "There are virtual field trips that a teacher can lead through Second Life. If a student is most comfortable in a virtual environment, why not let him learn that way?
"I don’t think it’s a bad thing for students to be dependent on technology," Braverman says. "Teachers are there to prepare students for life, and to teach them how to get by. I would never not allow a student to use any resource because it made their life easier, so long as it wasn’t cheating in any way."
The U.S. Congress seems to agree. The government is spending more than $700 million a year to support technology in the classroom, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc., which studies educational software for the Department of Education.
Oppenheimer isn't against computers in the classroom, but believes they should be introduced later in a student's development, and then in moderation. "The idea that we need technology in school has been popular for almost a century. But no reputable studies have found it makes any significant difference. What are we spending all this money on?"

HP unveils small laptop for schoolkids (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO - One more of the world's biggest technology companies is clamoring to enter the growing market for pint-sized computers targeted mainly for pint-sized customers. Hewlett-Packard Co., the No. 1 seller of personal computers worldwide, said Tuesday it's throwing its weight behind a new class of miniaturized laptops, a fledgling market already populated with products from Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor company, and Asustek Computers Inc., the world's largest maker of computer motherboards.
The machines are so new the industry hasn't settled on a name for low-cost and scaled-down laptops used primarily for surfing the Internet and performing other basic functions like word processing.
Intel has labeled them "netbooks," and it expects more than 50 million netbooks to be in circulation by 2011.
HP executives say their new machines, which go on sale later this month, are an important piece of the Palo Alto-based company's effort to build market share in schools, where machines had to be smaller and cheaper without losing too many functions.
The companies also expect adults to cotton to the idea of buying two laptops — a lightweight one just for Web browsing on the go and the full-power machine for the home or office. But industry executives acknowledge that the market is untested and that no one knows what demand will be once the machines are deployed widely.
HP's foray comes in the form of a new computer called a "Mini-Note" that weighs less than 3 pounds with a screen that measures 8.9 inches diagonally. The machines start at under $500 for a Linux-based model. Prices go up for Windows Vista models with faster processors.
The processors HP is using are made by Via Technologies Inc., the distant third-ranked player in the microprocessor space, and come in clock speeds up to 1.6 gigahertz. The inclusion is a big win for Via, which trails Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. by a wide margin in the microprocessor market.
HP executives say the only major feature its Mini-Note lacks is an optical drive for ingesting DVDs and CD-ROMs, which can be bought separately. But they say many schools requested the drives be left out to prevent students from playing unauthorized games.
The Mini-Note will compete primarily with Intel's Classmate PCs — which are designed by Intel and feature Intel chips but are built and branded by other companies — and Asustek's Eee PC.
To a lesser extent, they also will go up against the XO laptop from the Cambridge, Mass., nonprofit One Laptop per Child, which is intended primarily for schoolchildren in developing countries.
Intel says it has sold "tens of thousands" of Classmate PCs since they went on sale last year. And OLPC says it has sold hundreds of thousands of the XO. Figures were not immediately available for sales of the Eee.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/hewlett_packard_small_laptops

Technology for a Four year old!!!!

Last night I seen something that was awesome. I walk into the room and I seen my friends daughter playing tennis on the Nintento Wii. She just walk in, put the game in yourself and went through the list to connect the game and started to play. The crazy thing was that she was pretty good at it, I was having so much fun watching her play. Then she tried bowling and that was even more entertaining to watch. Technology is so easy to use that a 4 year old can use it, imagine what it`s going to be like in a couple of year yet alone 20 years. I can wait to see was the future holds for us. I hope we get our jetpacks soon.

TGIDDY

Technology in the Classroom

People that complain about the technology in our class don`t realize how good they have it. Yes there are a few bugs in the system, but give it time it`s better in the long run. If not, you can move down to freddy, rent a $800 a month apartment and do it the old fashion way.

Peace in the Middle East

Ed 4862

It so easy to make you own personal web page, I love it, But I`m cheap. I`ve made websites using 50megs.com. It very easy to use but you are limited with design and pop-ups, but you get what you pay for and I don`t pay anything for it. But I find it way easier to make a group page on facebook, you have instant access to millions of people. You can put blogs, games, videos, pics, etc..... It`s getting to a point where its becoming so cheap and easy to do business on the internet
I can`t wait to see the next internet program that going to take the world by storm like facebook has done.

Satellite Radio

I purchased a satellite radio for my car over the break and I love it, it has about 200 channels of everything I like to listen to on the radio. When I travell I preferred to listen to the radio than to CD`s, so this radio for me was a must, espically the stations around here are not that good. Since I got the radio I mostly listen to the comedy stations. Some of my other faves are ESPN radio and music from the 90`s and the hair bands. It was so easy to installed; plugged in a couple of wires and a simple phone call and there you have it, instant satification. I recommended it to everybody that is thinking about getting one, Cheap, fast, and it rocks.

When I look at my school and see how it is changing it ways of methods on how to deliver information using technology to the students I like what I see. Our school is about 255 students from K-8. In our school, we have a computer lab with about 25 computers available; there is also a mobile computer lab that holds 24 computers. The French program from grade 5 to 8 is delivered through this mobile lab, using Rosetta stone software, our school also has wireless connection. There is a smartboard in every class from grade 5 to 8 and next year all the classes will have them. Every classroom has a computer for the kids to work on and they all have access to a printer. Students have access to the internet and it easier for them to Google information for their projects than go to the library. I rarely see students in the library working on projects, they are in the computer lab Goggling.
Does this make our students global students, I don’t believe so. The can find anything on the internet from all over the world but it is as easy as typing a few keys words in a search engine and with a little cut and paste they have their projects done. Are these kids retaining any of the information that they are taking off the internet. I don’t believe so, no much anyway, I can’t remember any important information about my grade 10 Napoleon project, what I do remember is being in the library after school trying to get it done for the next day writing out the information straight out of a book that probably has been on the shelf for twenty years. The computers and the technologies that schools are using today are not making better students they are just making it easier for kids to get their assignments done quicker. The internet is unlimited when its comes to information, while the school library is starting to be used as a storage area.
For anybody to be good at what they do, they need to have good fundamentals and practice. I’m a better student today than when I was back in high school and it’s not because of technology it’s because of the basic fundamentals of being able to read and write. It’s working on these skills that have advanced my education, not a computer. Technology has helped me to put together information that has allowed me present my work in more creative ways. Example; I’m using Microsoft word to type this paper, when I’m done; I will send it to you using email. 10 years ago it was a typewriter and snail mail.

Technology has made it more enjoyable when working on projects and assignments. It creates a better way of life. But sticking a child behind a computer and think that this student will perform to their highest capability because of it is naïve. Children learn so much more outside the classroom that we like to give them credit for. Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. If you encourage your kids play sports they will learn the importance of teamwork, respect, integrity. A computer can’t teach you that.
Are computers reshaping our children’s lives, I say yes because we are letting it happen. In a negative way, some parents use technology as a babysitter, I see it too much that kids especially in my community are too involved with their new play stations and computer games. They spend hours playing the same games. Some will say that it’s better than having the run the streets. Parents shouldn’t be scare to let there kids play outside They are more than life than videogames, yes it keeps them out of trouble but it creates a small world for them. Technology can show children the world but kids need to live in it and not through a TV screen. In a positive, technology allows our children to reach their full potential and allows them to get an education that might not be available other wise. Education is not all about English and Math. As Sir Ken Robinson says there are so many exceptional learners in the world but we as a society prevent them from creativity because we think they should be learning something else instead.

Waiting Room

There's nothing I hate more is than to wait, A couple of nights ago I had to go to the outpatients to check out my cough. I knew I was going to be there for a while and that was one of the reasons why I didn't want to go in the first place. There were about 5 people in front of me and I already started to curse in my head about why did I let my wife convince me to come here. There was a TV in the waiting room and of course the receptionist was watching a french movie from back in the 70's. As I looked around in the lounge for something to read all there was lying around was last weeks newspaper and a bunch a Canadian Living Magazines.

At this point, I want to runaway but there is nowhere to go. What is driving me crazy is that I'm going to be here for about 2 hours min and I'm only going to see the doctor for about 3 mins. As I reach in my pocket for some gum I realize that I have my trusty little blackberry, I have no games on it but it was a great opportunity to get some for it. After about 30 min searching for games, I downloaded a trial version of Poker King, At this point I didn't care where I was, my goal for the next little while was to get 10 000 chips so I can play in the WSOP. Before I knew it, the nurse called me in the room and I finally had enough chips to enter the tournament. As expected my visit with the doctor was only minutes but my 2 and a half hour wait to see him in the waiting room felt like nothing compare to previous visits to the outpatients all thanks to my blackberry, my newest form of technology I have in my pocket.

Last Night`s Class

I was a good class, I was surprise about the size of our class. It was interesting to talk about adware, freeware and viruis. I`m always so sketchy about putting my info on the net, How do you know which sites to trust. The only time I put my credit card number on the internet is when I make flight reservations. I`ve use expedia.com to make those arrangements and I just assume that those sites are safe because of the size of the company. I assume that they have the bankroll to buy the software needed to protect my information. I use a website 50megs.com to make my website for my basketball team. I use it because it`s free, I like it, it is very easy to use and if i decide to buy the domain it is cheap. The one thing about it, is i get all kinds of pop-ups on it but that is the price I pay for not paying for it.

I Think facebook is crazy and how people play out their lives on it. I have about 200 people on it and I probably only talk to about 20 of them. I use facebook mostly to look at pics of friends and to be nosy once in a while. I don`t have any personal info on it that people can use against me lol. I actually cancelled my account on it for a while, but after I heard that the information will always be on a server somewhere I decided to put it back on and use it for entertainment purposes only. Facebook trick me about my personal info, making me believe that if I deactivate my account my info would disappear. I will never again sign up to any type of facebook software, classmates or anything like it. I like to keep my personal stuff personal.

Tyler

Technology in the Classroom

Technology is everywhere we look. The kids today are much higher advance than us when it comes to this stuff. In schools today, students use computers for pretty much every subject, even in Phys, Ed. I use a Smart Board with coaching basketball. We view our basketball games on the screen and it allows us to break the game in every aspect. Kids today have ipods, messanger tools, highly interative games where they play against people from all over the world. PSP`s you name it and most kids are into to it. Kids today have to power down to come to school these days. I try to use technology as much as possible in my classroom because students have fun using it. and learning should be fun.

Tyler