Blog Assignment 8

This is How We Dream
 In This is How We Dream part 1, Mr. Miller explains how he wrote an entire paper about the Virginia Tech massacre without ever stepping foot in a library and delivered a speech on the topic. Years ago, this would not have been possible. This is part of the incremental change, as well as collaboration. Collaboration gives us the ability to combine and share ideas immediately, which adds depth to our ideas. The fundamental changes that he talks about in This is How We Dream part 2, are about the way that we write, publish,and distribute information. Using multimedia makes information immediate and more interesting by adding sound and visuals that were not possible years ago.
I agree with Mr. Miller's video, however, I am an avid reader and still enjoy books of the tangible variety. Ever since I was a child, there was something about the feel and smell of the pages that allured me. I love ink on my fingertips. I am a "nerd", and I am okay with that. With that being said, I have found myself recently opting for digital versions of books for convenience sake. I believe that eventually, those fond sensations of childhood will become memories of the past and I will tell my  grandchildren "When I was a child....". I also keep up with current events in mostly digital formats. This is mainly because it is immediate and changes as events change. I am able to stay more up to date this way.
Dr Strange asked: "Are you prepared to write with multimedia?". The answer is, no. Not yet at least. I still have much to learn about how to do it and do it well. I believe in doing everything in the best way possible. I don't want to put my name on anything that isn't top notch and publish it on the internet. I know basics that I have learned in EDM310, but even after this semester is over I have to continue the process. I have to keep learning as technology changes. I do know that I am eager and willing to learn because I believe that it is the future and more importantly, the BEST way to write. I also want to make this change and continue to learn how to use technology for my future students. I want them to learn how to be able to do this as early as possible. If I can't teach them then I will be doing them a serious disservice. This is part of my job as a teacher in this generation, plain and simple.
My feelings being as they are, I was shocked to read the comments to his video on youtube. Some people are completely against the idea and many of those are people that are in the academic world. I suppose that these are the people that do not understand technology and might be afraid of what it will do to their careers and where they fit into the puzzle. Like it or not, it is the future. Instead of focusing on what will happen if they do follow suit, they should be considering what will happen if they don't. Embrace it and learn it or be left behind and I will be applying for your job in a few years.

Carly's Post
I absolutely love what Carly did in her post. Instead of just listing each video and why it was important or relevant to her, she built her post (words) around the videos and put the links directly in. I was able to clearly read and understand what she was saying and click on the links to reinforce her ideas. I think she came as close as possible to Mr. Miller's ideas of writing with multi-media.
I like the idea of the assignment for several reasons. First, is because I am all about being put in situations where I am able to dig for information and think for myself. I have said this a million times and I am gong to say it again. The most effective way to learn anything is through self discovery and this is the next reason why I like this assignment. It challenges the student to think about the kind of teacher they want to be and gives them an opportunity to find other sources of information that will reinforce those thoughts and ideas. And the last reason is because it's just fun. School doesn't have to be boring, does it? Why can't we have a little fun along the way?
Overall, it was a great assignment and Carly did a wonderful job putting it together.

EDM310 for Dummies
This video was strange to me when I first watched it at the beginning of the semester because I was unaware of the extreme amount of frustration that EDM310 was going to cause me. Now, I laugh as I watch it because I think that was what I looked like in weeks 2-4. In fact, I might have actually thrown my computer and screamed at it. It's a fun video that illustrates my feelings at that time very well. The greatest thing about it is that all I had to do was relax. All of the information I needed was right in front of me and the rest was just a Google click away.
This would have been a fun video to be a part of and it was a clever idea. I think it would be interesting to create another video that illustrates the same idea in a different way. "A Love Note to Future EDMers" or "Future Strangeonians" that would contain do's and dont's in a comical way. It would be something that could be left behind for future "EDMers" to remind them to relax and have fun. This is a HARD course, but once you stop freaking out so much you can really get so much out of it.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
I agree with all of the arguments made in this video. The arguments made here have been made in several other videos that we have watched from the beginning of the semester. The bottom line is that technology has changed children's lives completely. The way they think, communicate, gather information, and the way they process ideas in their personal lives have changed drastically from the previous generation. Why have we not pushed more for technological resources in their classrooms? This is what they are comfortable with and familiar with. I encourage everyone to watch Learn to Change, Change to Learn: Student Voices. This video explains different ways that young kids are using technology in their lives and it is an eye opening video.
One of the reasons why I wanted to become a teacher is because I am fascinated with what children have to say. Take a room of 14 year old children and ask them a question that you think might be above their level and see what kind of answers you get. In order to appreciate what they have to say, remember that they do not have as much life experience as you. If you can do this I promise you will be amazed. Children have voices and amazing things to say. The technology that they use everyday and love so much has caused them to be much more in tune with what is going on in the world than I ever thought about being at that age. In some ways, I think that I have more to learn from them than they do from me.