http://www.tuaw.com/2010/10/20/mac-app-store-announced/
Yesterday, Apple announced the launch of the new Mac App Store. The Mac App Store is offering new features like auto upgrade, one click download which will help users save time and money. Any apps that a user buys will have access to any Apple products like, iPods, iPhones, or iPads. Another interesting point that they have mentioned is about the developers. Big developers like Adobe and Microsoft might not want to join and it can cause problems for many Apple users who need these products. I feel like there are always good things following the bad, and the best way to solve problems is by having balance. If big developers don’t join the Mac app store then the Mac app store will be almost useless. “The Mac App Store will be a standalone app available for Snow Leopard and Lion.”
Friday, October 22, 2010
Why Educate?
http://www.downes.ca/post/53265
As a teacher and a student, I believe that all people must be well educated in order to be successful. Having an education does not mean just being literate. In order to achieve your goals you must know how to communicate effectively with others. For some students, going to school can be a place where they meet friends and learn something from their teachers. However, from my perspective I consider that students at any stage of their education are preparing to be able to interact with the world in a professional manner, not how to interact in the classroom. By receiving education, students can also find their interests and what they really want to do as a living. I truly believe that without good education people will not be as motivated to participate in the fast pace nature of the working world. As a good educator, our job is to guide our students in the right direction in order to help them explore and find their motivations. Without education or motivation, it will be hard to become a successful person.
As a teacher and a student, I believe that all people must be well educated in order to be successful. Having an education does not mean just being literate. In order to achieve your goals you must know how to communicate effectively with others. For some students, going to school can be a place where they meet friends and learn something from their teachers. However, from my perspective I consider that students at any stage of their education are preparing to be able to interact with the world in a professional manner, not how to interact in the classroom. By receiving education, students can also find their interests and what they really want to do as a living. I truly believe that without good education people will not be as motivated to participate in the fast pace nature of the working world. As a good educator, our job is to guide our students in the right direction in order to help them explore and find their motivations. Without education or motivation, it will be hard to become a successful person.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The New Skype Connects Everyone
http://about.skype.com/press/2010/10/new_skype.html
The new Skype for Windows is bringing people even closer together. Similar to Facebook, the new features connects people around the world even easier and faster. As an immigrant to this country I feel like these technologies let us communicate with our families, friends, and even businesses. Video calling is another advantage to Skype. Video calling makes every conversation more exciting and interactive. Being able to see a person when communicating helps people to express and understand each other better, and using video calling can simulate in-person dialogue. The new version of Skype has also added recovery features. Recovery features help people to reconnect immediately easier and faster when having connection problems. Technologies like Skype are a great way to communicate with people around the world with barely any hassle. Seeing the person you are talking to allows people to have a powerful and more meaningful conversation with minimal miscommunication.
The new Skype for Windows is bringing people even closer together. Similar to Facebook, the new features connects people around the world even easier and faster. As an immigrant to this country I feel like these technologies let us communicate with our families, friends, and even businesses. Video calling is another advantage to Skype. Video calling makes every conversation more exciting and interactive. Being able to see a person when communicating helps people to express and understand each other better, and using video calling can simulate in-person dialogue. The new version of Skype has also added recovery features. Recovery features help people to reconnect immediately easier and faster when having connection problems. Technologies like Skype are a great way to communicate with people around the world with barely any hassle. Seeing the person you are talking to allows people to have a powerful and more meaningful conversation with minimal miscommunication.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Language Develpment Theory
Throughout the study of education and learning processes, humans have divided the language development theory into different categories. It is difficult to say which one is the best, but as a teacher it is necessary to understand the different perspectives. That’s one of the reasons why there is still a lot of research and studies focused on language development. As an immigrant in this country, I feel like the Social Interaction theory fits the best to my experiences. Interacting with other students who are native speakers helped me a lot to improve my English language skills. Of course, at school I was instructed through more of the Connectionist theory. “Connectionist model consists of a set of processing elements, called nodes, and the interconnections among those nodes.” For example, Spanish and ESL classes required a lot of repetition in order to gain understanding and new vocabulary. This is similar to our experience when we were a baby. We learned words by listening to others and each time they repeated a word, we would learn how to use and pronounce that word better. Like the saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” While reading Hoff, chapter one, I realized that there are other theories which could be used effectively in the classroom, for instance, Generativist, Constructivist, and Behaviorist.
The Generativist theory states that all human can learn equally. It also explains how humans are capable of learning naturally like a built-in ability. This means that we don’t need to strain ourselves over learning about something as one can absorb information and use it naturally. For instance, when students are writing short passages in Spanish, they can partner with other students and correct each other’s grammar. The Constructivist theory says that “language (or any form of knowledge) is constructed by the child using inborn mental equipment but operating on information provided by the environment.” To me this means, anyone can learn almost anything, but it is the environment or classroom that facilitates learning. For example, after reading or watching a movie in Spanish, students can sit in a circle and have a question and answer session in order to discuss and understand each other points of view. This theory is often used in today’s classroom and involves interacting directly with the environment. This theory also states that the environment can teach any student. For example, as a Spanish teacher I can create environments where students can interact with each other by speaking the language in order to practice naturally, and be able to learn Spanish from the environment or naturally occurring instances like dialogue or conversation. Lastly, there is the Behaviorist theory. This theory focuses on certain reinforcements according to the behavior of the student. For example, positive reinforcement is really important to create a healthy learning environment and can be used to motivate our students. As a result, students will want to learn more in order to receive the incentives as part of the reinforcement. However, it’s possible that some students feel that reinforcement doesn’t always work since students are only working for a prize. “Because the behaviorists' notion of the endpoint of development was wrong, the behaviorist theory of achieving that endpoint is inadequate as a theory of language acquisition”. As a good teacher I feel like sometimes I should be giving some reinforcement to motivate students, but trying different methods to see their effectiveness is our job. In the classroom, giving too many stickers or candies everyday can condition students to get used to the idea of receiving awards for every activity or task they accomplish. However, if the instructor provides reinforcement only when it is needed or earned, students may try a little harder to work for the prize that is not so easy to get.
As a Spanish and Technology major, I believe in my field the best theories that apply are Constructivist and Social Interaction. In these classrooms, usually teachers create an environment where students can learn naturally and interact with other in order to learn and scaffold. At the same time, as an educator, it is hard to say which one of these theories is the best for all students although all of these theories are proved and can make sense in different situations. As an intentional teacher, we need to study our students by using these theories in order to serve them the best. Understanding how our students learn can help us improve in our job as guides. Since every student is different, we need to apply different methods to teach every student in the classroom.
The Generativist theory states that all human can learn equally. It also explains how humans are capable of learning naturally like a built-in ability. This means that we don’t need to strain ourselves over learning about something as one can absorb information and use it naturally. For instance, when students are writing short passages in Spanish, they can partner with other students and correct each other’s grammar. The Constructivist theory says that “language (or any form of knowledge) is constructed by the child using inborn mental equipment but operating on information provided by the environment.” To me this means, anyone can learn almost anything, but it is the environment or classroom that facilitates learning. For example, after reading or watching a movie in Spanish, students can sit in a circle and have a question and answer session in order to discuss and understand each other points of view. This theory is often used in today’s classroom and involves interacting directly with the environment. This theory also states that the environment can teach any student. For example, as a Spanish teacher I can create environments where students can interact with each other by speaking the language in order to practice naturally, and be able to learn Spanish from the environment or naturally occurring instances like dialogue or conversation. Lastly, there is the Behaviorist theory. This theory focuses on certain reinforcements according to the behavior of the student. For example, positive reinforcement is really important to create a healthy learning environment and can be used to motivate our students. As a result, students will want to learn more in order to receive the incentives as part of the reinforcement. However, it’s possible that some students feel that reinforcement doesn’t always work since students are only working for a prize. “Because the behaviorists' notion of the endpoint of development was wrong, the behaviorist theory of achieving that endpoint is inadequate as a theory of language acquisition”. As a good teacher I feel like sometimes I should be giving some reinforcement to motivate students, but trying different methods to see their effectiveness is our job. In the classroom, giving too many stickers or candies everyday can condition students to get used to the idea of receiving awards for every activity or task they accomplish. However, if the instructor provides reinforcement only when it is needed or earned, students may try a little harder to work for the prize that is not so easy to get.
As a Spanish and Technology major, I believe in my field the best theories that apply are Constructivist and Social Interaction. In these classrooms, usually teachers create an environment where students can learn naturally and interact with other in order to learn and scaffold. At the same time, as an educator, it is hard to say which one of these theories is the best for all students although all of these theories are proved and can make sense in different situations. As an intentional teacher, we need to study our students by using these theories in order to serve them the best. Understanding how our students learn can help us improve in our job as guides. Since every student is different, we need to apply different methods to teach every student in the classroom.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Wikis in Education
Article: http://www.futurechanges.org/2008/04/10/interview-the-state-of-wikis-in-education/
There are many benefits to using Wikis including interactive group activities and the promotion of collaboration. In an educational setting, students can use Wikis as a learning tool in order to share ideas, respond to others, and demonstrate understanding of content. Wikis can also improve the group dynamic by allowing multiple individuals to collaborate on a given document remotely. In “The State if Wikis in Education”, the blogger says that “teachers like (Wikis) because they can interact with students throughout the course of a project or assignment”. Teachers interacting with their students via a Wiki will allow the teacher to build a healthy and constant learning environment. Wikis also allow teachers to guide their students through the web. In this blog entry cited above, they also mention that “some schools, courses, and teachers are doing incredible things with wikis, but they’re not yet in widespread use everywhere”. As good educators, I feel we need to be knowledgeable of all the technological tools available to us and be able to use them to their full potential. Our ultimate goal is to guide our students with the most appropriate and up-to-date materials in order to be successful inside and outside of the classroom. In addition, teachers must keep in mind that all students learn differently. Different can mean many different things such as, knowledge level, aptitude, and home environment. Wikis give students an opportunity to learn and help each other through interaction. Most of the time there are 3 levels of students in the classroom. Using Wikis is a great way to bring students together from different level of performance in order to scaffold or peer to peer teaching. Wikis can allow teachers to use different methods in order to catch every student’s attention. Teachers will have no problem connecting with their students through Wikis as they can be fun and not intimidating to those un-savvy technology users. Wikis might sound a little more complicated than blogging or instant messenger, but in actuality anyone with the basic knowledge of using a computer can create, build, and maintain a Wiki. The author of “the State of Wikis in Education” said that using Wikis is just as easy as writing an e-mail. Ultimately, once teachers learn about Wikis and the potential benefits of using them in the classroom, they can become collaborative partners with students in the constructivist classroom.
There are many benefits to using Wikis including interactive group activities and the promotion of collaboration. In an educational setting, students can use Wikis as a learning tool in order to share ideas, respond to others, and demonstrate understanding of content. Wikis can also improve the group dynamic by allowing multiple individuals to collaborate on a given document remotely. In “The State if Wikis in Education”, the blogger says that “teachers like (Wikis) because they can interact with students throughout the course of a project or assignment”. Teachers interacting with their students via a Wiki will allow the teacher to build a healthy and constant learning environment. Wikis also allow teachers to guide their students through the web. In this blog entry cited above, they also mention that “some schools, courses, and teachers are doing incredible things with wikis, but they’re not yet in widespread use everywhere”. As good educators, I feel we need to be knowledgeable of all the technological tools available to us and be able to use them to their full potential. Our ultimate goal is to guide our students with the most appropriate and up-to-date materials in order to be successful inside and outside of the classroom. In addition, teachers must keep in mind that all students learn differently. Different can mean many different things such as, knowledge level, aptitude, and home environment. Wikis give students an opportunity to learn and help each other through interaction. Most of the time there are 3 levels of students in the classroom. Using Wikis is a great way to bring students together from different level of performance in order to scaffold or peer to peer teaching. Wikis can allow teachers to use different methods in order to catch every student’s attention. Teachers will have no problem connecting with their students through Wikis as they can be fun and not intimidating to those un-savvy technology users. Wikis might sound a little more complicated than blogging or instant messenger, but in actuality anyone with the basic knowledge of using a computer can create, build, and maintain a Wiki. The author of “the State of Wikis in Education” said that using Wikis is just as easy as writing an e-mail. Ultimately, once teachers learn about Wikis and the potential benefits of using them in the classroom, they can become collaborative partners with students in the constructivist classroom.
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