Podcasts are very useful, especial to review information. I am a learner that needs to have the information repeated. Podcasts, voice recordings, and written materials are nice to have for references, especially when studying for tests. Having the podcasts takes away the guessing of what was said or if it is a video podcast then the "special test" of the shoulder can be reviewed. I want to flip my classroom and utilize either podcasts or voiced powerpoints for the students to review on their own and then use the classroom for projects and discussions of the material. Technology is going to give students a more hands on classroom experience.
I have noticed a huge shift in the way students engage now compared to the 90's. Technology is everywhere and access to the internet and social media is readily available. I have noticed that the attention span of the students are much shorter and their desire to research topics more in-depth is not there. I have found myself utilizing the internet for quick references. I now feel that with quick access to information that I do not need to memorize facts. I have also noticed that I skim a lot more and do not read everything. It is great to have all of this information easily accessible, but I fear that it is going to create a society with no patients, small attention span, little face-to-face communication skills, and too much reliance on technology for information. I would hate to see what the world would do if we had no more power.
Educators should progress with society. Technology is a large part in people's lives today. Just about everyone is on some form of social media. It would only make sense to incorporate technology into the classroom. The help students learn, class needs to be interesting. Since technology is interesting to students, use it as a tool to educate them. The article Social Networking in Undergraduate Education, reviewed the usage of social media among students and if it was used in the classroom. With the high volume of usage by students, educators would benefit using social media as one of the tools to learning. I agree with this and I am excited to try some of these different technologies and social media in the classes that I will be teaching. http://www.ijikm.org/Volume7/IJIKMv7p063-090Buzzetto611.pdf
Photos can say so much. To get a point across, creating a fun photo or a blend of photos together can paint an image that is both visually attractive and that can say more in a small space rather than a large space full of words. Such as this photo I did above. What do you get from this picture above? I am new to developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN). I decided to use Pearltrees because I liked the idea that I get to build multiple interest groups. I will continue to add my interests and organize my trees as I build. I do love organizing, so this really excites me to have a single place I can go to and have all of my interests there. So far, I have selected a couple of Athletic Training sites, Fresno State Athletics site, and WebMD. These are all initial interests of mine that I deal with on a daily basis. As time goes, I will add different forms of information and see where my interests take me.
The internet is a great resource for fast information. Accuracy is the problem. Not all information on the internet is true and accurate. Knowing this, I utilize google search for information and then narrow down the sites for more accurate information. I like using WebMD for quick references on medical issues. If I want information that needs to be accurate, then I looks for journal articles that have been peer-reviewed.
The key is to understand that not all information on the internet is to be trusted, but the information can be used to assist in finding the correct information. I think technology and the internet has been a great resource for society. News information can reach the public in a blink of the eye. For education purposes, finding resources to write research papers has decreased the hunting time. The computer searches the data bases for you through the search bar. The time that students save in researching is many hours. Marcus Buckingham does a great job in expressing how important it is to know what your strengths are and to continue developing those strengths. He talks about finding a role where you can play to your strengths for the majority of the working day. I grew up learning that one should identify what their weaknesses are and work on improving those. What a novice idea to actually discover what one's strengths are and further develop those.
My sweet spots are my desire to solve problems and teach people new skills. I love puzzles and I am good at solving problems or issues that arise. I also love teaching someone something. I will give examples to my athletic training. The puzzles in athletic training are finding out the cause to an injury. I look beyond the site of pain and really try to figure out why the pain was created. Teaching something is when I can teach a rehabilitation skill to an athlete and they can perform it correctly and feel the purpose of the exercise. With coaching, it was teaching a softball player how to hit and having them successfully hit a great ball. Those moments of achievements are my strengths. I am patient and great with communication, this is why athletic training is such a great fit for me. Twitter is a great microblogger. The comments are short and can be accessed by everyone, especially using keyword searches. Fresno State Athletics uses Twitter to keep fans up-to-date during events and for upcoming events. It is a great experience to follow a team and see what they do on the road and view their experiences. If it is impossible to attend a game or see it on television, then the sport team's Twitter account is a great place to follow along. Microblogging is a great resource for news, events, community activities, and to see what is trending.
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