Futuring

How to animate a rolling ball

In this short film, the students were attempting to animate a ball rolling across the screen. Their fist attempt failed, and it appeared that the ball just slid across the screen. They then used the ball's circumference and the idea of the x,y,and z axes to make the ball roll.


The pros...

• The students were able to learn about the different planes of field in 3-D animation.
• They learned about graphics on the computer.
• They were able to apply the math lesson and formula for circumference into the show.

The cons...

• It would take a long time.
• It would be hard for a teacher with limited technological skills
• Hard to grade and measure each student's participation.

This project was great for showing students how important circumference is, and explained how to calculate the dimensions of the ball. Because it was so simple, it seems like it could be useful, and not too timely to be a good lesson. It could also be a good teaching tool.

How would you grade "Fox Becomes a Better Person" and "School Train"?

A rubric could be used for this project. As the instructor would want to be the judge of the content, and I may consider the production quality something that could be done through peer review, getting the whole class involved. This way they can see each others work, and better know what is expected in the future.

Content- This means I would evaluate the presentation to decide if the objectives were met (if they learned what I wanted them to learn). The students would first and foremost be expected to create something that shows their ability to understand some concept.

Production- Effort could be examined here. The student's prior knowledge of the technology would have to be considered for this area of grading.

Because I do not know the students, it would be hard for me to grade these two projects on production quality, although they are both good. It does seems clear that they both met the content requirement.

What impacts could the developments of epic2015 have on your classroom...podcasting?

If all people were considered acceptable sources of news, in the end news would become a jumble of "factoids". It makes me uncomfortable to think that such superficial information as where I shop or what kinds of magazines I buy would determine what news I receive. Although I may like to read a magazine that highlights movie stars and their lives on a road trip, this does not mean that I wouldn't want to receive relevant news as well. Much could be done with the technology behind this filtering of news.

Pros...

• Sharing- I would want students share resources and relevant information to make the final product as a whole better. This could be journal articles, web pages, or just pictures.
• News- I wonder if this technology could help students to attain better quality resources. If resources could be filtered through a system so no time is waited reading articles that sound helpful , that end up having no good info.

Cons...

• Exclusivity- It leaves out the students that are not as able to get their hands on technology
• Cheating - It would be harder to decide if a student were using appropriate sources of information.

In some classes I have had, we would analyse abbreviated reports. When you get to go back and look at the entire write up, major flaws in methods can be found, and the results become less finite. The work looks so compelling when there is a lack of detail that you would not feel the need to question. In actuality there were some big questions left unanswered and many unknowns. I am afraid that this is what will happen with news.

We already get an abbreviated news. I am afraid that compiling information even more may lead to situations where the news looks finite when it is actually malleable. I hope that there is a way to keep the news somewhat non-bias and as true as possible.

How would I use something like Sabrina's example in the classroom?

Sabrina was able to use a simple form of technology to get a beautiful idea across. This would be a nice medium for journal work in an English class. In my Science class, this could be used to encourage the students to do their own research, and them present a short lesson to the class.

Article assessment I

Renee Moseng

reneeem@msn.com

Sept. 8, 2008

Article Assessment I

Listen to the Natives

"Times have changes", declares Prensky in his article explaining the differences between the current day student and those of the past. Those who were not born into the digital world are referred to as digital immigrants. Because there is a memory of a non-digital world, these types of people are not able to move comfortably through the digital world. This leaves them in a cycle of playing catch up with newer technology.

Prensky refers to those born into the digital world as digital natives. This generation, being comfortable with technology, are able to navigate through the technical world, with little instruction. They are able to teach themselves through trial and error. They don't waist their time reading how-to books, they are engaged.

This difference in knowledge between teachers and students should lead us to demanding more teachers with empathy and guidance abilities than exclusively with subject knowledge. This would allow for many encouraging changes in the classrooms of today, and make school a more integrated part of the current day student's life.

Interesting Ideas:

• Shifting gears- We as educators need to be willing to leave our comfort zones and enter into the 21st century. This would mean including students in designing instruction, and encouraging students to make good decisions.
• Student Engagement- If we create classrooms that include the digital technologies that students spend time with at home, students will be more motivated in their classrooms.
• Collaborating with Students- Students who are fluent in the language of technology can become a great resource for teachers, and can be useful to the creation of curriculum that includes digital technology.
• Flexible Organization- The current way of grouping kids into learning groups is refered to as herding, a student's involuntary assignment to specific classes or groups.

Two strategies are suggested hereto avoid this. One being one-to-one personalized instruction. This is nearly impossible in the current day classrooms due to the ratio of students to teachers. The second strategy is self-selected learning groups. This could be within the classroom, or even include students from other classes in the nation or other countries.

• Digital Tools- Tools that are traditionally thought of a taboo in the classroom could be used in a useful way. One for example is the cell phone. With the use of the camera/video abilities of today's cell phones, students could post assignment, and create narratives.
• Programming- This can be used in the form of downloading, doing Google searches, of handing in homework via Flash programs.