Some Final Thoughts...

As a future teacher of the 21st century it is my belief that we as teachers have to be more technologically aware of what is out there and available to use in today’s society. We as teachers should be teaching the children these valuable skills because it these skills that is going to take them into the future. Now that being said I think as teachers in a first nation community we also have to respect the values and beliefs of our culture. We as teachers need to somehow find a balance between teaching our traditional skills, values, and beliefs and the new technological skills that these children need to become successful in our society. And this something I look forward to working on.

Assignment: Chapter 6

The types of issues that I would be worried that students are producing for sharing online is information that is not true and information that is not theirs and they claim that it is. I would also be worried as to who they were talking to online. As we all know anyone can claim to be anyone online. Some rules that I would want children to practice while online are: do not use a webcam, restrict the use of adult search engines, and see what kind of games are they playing (are they age-appropriate and what kind of material is in them?).

Just a Poem..

Here is a poem I found online thought I'd share it with everyone...

A COMPUTER POEM FOR THOSE OVER FORTY

A computer was something on TV
From a science fiction show of note.
A window was something you hated to clean,
And ram was the cousin of a goat

Meg was the name of my girlfriend.
A gig was a job for the nights.
Now they all mean different things,
And that really mega bytes.

An application was for employment.
A program was a TV show.
A cursor used profanity.
A keyboard was a piano.

Memory was something that you lost with age.
A CD was a bank account.
And if you had a three-inch floppy,
You hoped nobody found out.

Compress was something you did to the garbage,
Not something you did to a file.
And if you unzipped anything in public,
You'd be in jail for a while.

Log on was adding wood to the fire.
Hard drive was a long trip on the road.
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived.
And a backup happened to your commode.

Cut, you did with a pocket knife.
Paste, you did with glue.
A web was a spider's home.
And a virus was the flu.

I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head.
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash,
But when it happens they wish they were dead.

-- author unknown

The digital divide: the "have-nots"

Not being able to access the web is rather a scary thought…I connect to people on a daily basis online, whether it is through emails or instant messenger. We are so fortunate to have such easy access to the internet, but that is not the case for everyone. Those people are truly missing out on something else. The Web is a great tool and resource of the future. The web is full of so many free resources that people should take advantage of. I just wish it was more affordable so that everyone would have access to the internet. Maybe that’s something the governments can help with. By making computers and broadband access more affordable more people can be connected to the World Wide Web.

Chapter Four: Wiki Spaces

I would use a wiki space for the project of students at two first nations’ schools in New Brunswick and British Columbia recording and sharing native stories and music. For creating a novel study with author participation, I think a wiki would work best. With the wiki spaces everyone has a chance to be an author and have a say in the project, there is a lot of room for collaboration. The students can upload their recordings, videos, and music onto the wiki spaces, and be able to share these with other students. Also with a wiki space, you can always have a blog linked to the space as well, in which everyone can have a chance to make and share their own comments. I think a blog would probably suffice for keeping a daily science journal or creative writing with peer review. The students can personalize their own blogs and have the freedom to write whatever they want, and with the comment application the children can leave their peer reviews on that.

Wikipedia.....

I read the chapter last night about Wiki spaces and it gave me a new understanding into the whole idea of Wikipedia. While going for my BA at Dalhousie University I was taught never use Wikipedia as a resource for anything. The university did not recognize this website as a credible resource of information because the sources for the information is not known. So I found it interesting to read about how accurate the information is on Wikipedia. And I am also interested to learn if UNB accepts Wikipedia as a credible resource?? But I think that Wiki spaces in general are a great resource for sharing information and it seems rather simple enough to keep the website updated.

My thoughts on the digital divide?....

There was a time I didn’t have the internet at home and I went on my daily life without even giving it a second thought. But once I got the internet hooked up at home it was like a whole other story. Having it around all the time made it rather addicting. So the fact is that I have choice to whether or not to be connected to the digital world, which is not the case for everyone. I think by being able to be connected to the World Wide Web it broadens ones view of the world. We are able to learn about what other people are doing or what their living styles are like, without even having actually to visit there. Or if we need to do some research all the information we need is right at our fingertips. So I would have to agree with you Jeff and say that the power of the connected network is great!

More to be continued....

Last Night's Class...

I thought last night's class presentations were pretty insightful, especially the group who did the S-5 technology. I thought it was rather interesting to learn about something new like that. It's surprising how technologically advance we've become as a society in such a short period of time. To be able to have a tracking device like that is amazing to me and it kinda of reminded me of that movie Enemy of the State.

Interesting Technology...

Another story I saw on the news about a month was about this new technology that was recently developed by a man in the maritimes. I forgot where he was from and what university he was working out of but he developed this machine that uses your own energy from your own body to recharge things such as batteries for your cellphone. I thought this was really interesting to see and thought I'd share it with everyone in case they never knew about it. This machine is worn like a knee brace and is strapped around the knee, so the energy you are using to walk is helping restore or recharge the battery.

Keeping Up

I have been having some trouble getting on my blogspot today, I wonder if its just me?? Anyways its been awhile since I have had access to a computer with the internet, over a week which is quite awhile for me. But anyways I have been watching a lot of news these days, now that I'm on my march break, and what I have been noticing is that alot of the stories featured on the news has had something to do with techonology. Like yesterday one in particular they were talking about how technology is changing so quickly and it seems like we can never catch up to it. For instance, when it comes to buying something new like a tv, one must take into factor that all the tv stations in the USA is going to digtial broadcasting and as well in Canada in the not so distant future. They were discussing about how buying a digital or plasma tv is the way to go. But some customers are skeptical because they are afraid of buying something that is going to be obsolete in a few years, because there is always something new and improved coming out.

Still bumping heads...

I am still bumping heads with technology these days....my computer is still out of commission which I am finding hard to function without....I am also finding it difficult trying to keep up with my homework for this class.....the only time I have a chance to get online is when I am at work....so writing posts for my blog and the class blog seem rather rushed. My car has also been out of commission all weekend and yet again I find it hard to function without it. I rely so much on my car for getting around and my computer so not having both things working is a big inconivence for me.

"Hard to Believe?"

"I would die if I never had t.v."....this was a comment made by a student last week when we were having a discussion in our social studies class. I'm not sure what we were discussing at the time but we started talking about how things were like in the past on our reserve. The teacher was discussing what it was like for her when she was just a little girl growing up on the reserve and how she never had things like x-box, t.v., computer, etc... to help pass the time. One of the students found it hard to believe that they never had t.v. back then. Children these days take for granted the things that they have, they have become so use to having computers and other technologies around that they don't appreciate what they have, until it is gone.

Bumping Heads!!

So I am currently having problems with my laptop at home. My computer crashed on me!! I do not know what happened to it but I have been having a lot problems with it lately. I think that it caught a virus and it just took over my whole computer. For the past few days I have been trying to fix "the problem" by myself. But I am having little to no luck at all...so I guess I'm going to have to get it look at by an "expert" to try and figure out the problem. So hopefully it will be back up and running in no time. Being without the internet these past few days has made me realize how much I rely on my computer. I actually feel lost without it.

My thoughts for the day...

I am currently working with grade four students as a teacher’s assistant at Mah-Sos School. We have a writing class in which the children are writing stories about their own personal recounts and turning them into books. The child love doing this because it makes them feel like they are actual publishers. This past week the children have been working on typing up their stories on the computer. The students really enjoy or prefer typing out their stories compared to writing them out. Most of these children have little to no experience with typing or using computers. (The children use the computer mostly just for playing games or doing the CCC program). But you should see their faces of how proud they are when they have finished typing and printing off their stories. Just another way technology has helped put a smile on a child’s face!!

A little bit about me...

My name is Darcy and I am from Tobique First Nation, NB. I am currently taking this course Ed3862 for my Bachelor of Education through UNB.

I would consider myself to be a "digital native"...I have been using technology for as long as I can remember. I am pretty comfortable using computers and other devices such as smartboards and overhead projectors.

"Technology is my friend, until we bump heads."

~WeLcOmE~

Just wanted to welcome everyone to my blog...

This blog will be used as part of my studies in Ed3862 and Ed4862.