Google vs. China

I recently read this article in the leader post regarding google in china. I had no idea that China had laws that could filter different types of content such as pornography or violence. I think the “Great Firewall of China” is a great technology in some aspects but for other reasons I disagree with it. In terms of the pornography I think it could be excellent for stopping pedophiles and other dangerous people from posting in order to protect children. On the other hand this type of firewall also bans differerent types of political propaganda. I come from a very politically centered family and I read alot of news on politicians and what they are trying to do. I think by having this type of firewall it could stop people from freedom of speech or hearing the truth. I am on the fence on this one in some aspects I think it is great to filter out the garbage found on the internet that scares people away from technology but on the other hand I feel as though it will eliminate people’s opinion. What do you think? Is there a firewall like this that exists in North America? Should there be?

90 Years Worth of Inspiration

Today, my family and I are celebrating my grandma’s ninetieth birthday. This is a really exciting time and we will have are having a party for her. My grandma was a big part of my life growing up and she herself was a teacher. I think my choice to become a teacher has alot to do with my grandma as she was always around to help me with any homework or to take interest in what I was doing in school while I was growing up. Her attitude along with my families attitudes towards learning really made me like school and excite me to go to school. My grandma didn’t really talk about being a teacher while I was growing up but now she does suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and for whatever reason she lives in the time of being a teacher and she truly is really happy. While it is sad that she can  not remember her own family it is wonderful to see how she can live through the times of being a teacher and I can still see in her eyes that she loved everyday she got to be a teacher. Seeing this is a huge inspiration for me and gets me really excited for my future and for the children I will meet and collaborate with throughout my career.

Educational Assistants:Big Part of the Team

So I am at home visiting my mom and dad this weekend and my mom who is an educational assistant brought up that the Saskatchewan province has made public that educational assistants may be cut by 75 percent. I decided I needed to look this up to see if this was true and what the general public’s opinion is about this issue. I found the article published in the Leader Post and I read that they want to hire more therapists and psychologists. I believe that more psychologists and therapists are needed in the schools but not at the price of losing Educational Assistants. I personally have had experience being an educational assistant in the Prairie Valley School Division last May and June and I found myself extremely busy each day. The school which only had maybe 80 students has four EA’s. By cutting these people students will be the ones who suffer and see less success. I think a women in the article speaks the best in saying that her son had no confidence in his schooling and now after having support from EA’s feels as though he can go to university. I think that statement says enough that by cutting the support by 75% is going to cut children’s confidence by 75%. EA’s do alot for all students not just the ones who struggle. They are able to focus time on students when the teacher is too busy to do so. They also are there to support the teacher and are able to step in and assist on many different duties. I think because I have had a first hand experience being a teacher’s aid I believe when I am a teacher I will appreciate, utilize and embrace their position and talent. Therefore, I hope the government realizes what they are cutting and who they are affecting.

Proud to Be Canadian

With the 2010 edition of the Winter Olympic Games wrapped up in Vancouver, British Columbia and I am in Olympic withdrawls! The ending of the Olympics as sad as it sounds upsets me so much as I have never watched so many events ever before. I found it incredibly neat to see so many people out supporting the athletes and so overcome with patriotic attitudes. At so many sporting events you could hear people shouting our national anthem and backing every athlete whether they were winning golds or getting fifteenth we are a proud nation. For this I am proud to say I am Canadian. I am also incredibly proud of the way Vancouver hosted the games. Besides a few problems in the opening ceremonies and a great tragedy in the Luge the Olympics were a world wide  hit! Canada finished the Olympics with the most gold medals any nation has every accumulated at one Olympic games. I believe this is partially because of Canada’s own the podium program. I think the Olympics are such a great thing to be funded by the government as it has a snowball effect on our nation and our children. For instance, children seeing the olympics will have them work harder in order to achieve their goals. It may also cause children to try new sports which I believe will help the decline in childhood obesity. So what do you think? Should such great funding continue for our Olympic athletes or should it only be something we address when we host the Olympics? What about funding for children’s sports, there is some but should there be more?

Teach Us Something:March Edition Post # 2

So I have been playing around alot with voicethread and it is a tool I believe that has so much potential to really help in a classroom. A tool I am trying to figure out right now and what I hope to present about is Voice Doodling. Voice Doodling allows for you to play a video and be able to talk about the video while it is playing. This could be a great tool to use for any class as it allows for you to emphasize the important things and then you could post it to your blog for students to look back on when studying. Voice Doodling also lets you draw, pause, rewind or fast forward through a video in order to get your point across. I am still attempting to “master” voice doodling but I am confident that I will be able to play around with it enough to become a “V.D.E.”–Voice Doodling Expert!

Tech Addiction

On any given day I will send an outrageous amount of text messages and  check my email, twitter and facebook at least three times a day. I don’t think I have a problem as I feel that what I am checking or discussing are lots of times job, school or family related. While I don’t believe I am addicted there are many people who have become seriously addicted to technology to the point where it effects the entirety of their lives. There is an abundance of research done surrounding the topic of technology addictions and in a study conducted by  Internet/Computer Addiction Services in Redmond, Washington they estimate that approximately 6 to 10 percent of the 189 million internet users in the United States have a technology dependency that effects people in a way that is as serious as alcoholism or a drug addiction. As a pre service teacher I plan on intergrating technology into my classroom in every way possible by using different programs and tools. My question is when is it too much? Should social networking such as blogs, be limited in the lower grade levels? Or are these addictions nothing that could be acquired through school programs?

Here is a video from CBS that discusses internet addiction:

Collaborative Project(post # 1)

For my collaborative project I will be working with Allanah King from Nelson, New Zealand. Allanah teaches year four which is eight year olds. There are twenty four students who have only been in school for three days. Allanah and I have connected through email and had a Skype session this afternoon where we got to know each other and she showed me her garden(I’m a little jealous that she thought it was way too hot there!) The theme for the first term in her classroom is connections. Our starting plan is for me to create an educational wiki and she will cross post to her classroom blog. On the wiki to begin I will:

* a video about myself and where I am from

* a video or slideshow of the physical steps I would have to take to get from Regina, SK to Nelson, NZ

I am going to start with this and as we continue to progress we will hopefully create more interesting ideas and answer any questions the children may have for me!

A Lost Generation

This video has a great message and I think is definitely worth the watch.

Heads Up!

So for ECMP 455 we are doing what I think of as a “Passion Teaching.” This was an easy thing for me to choose and I am really excited for hopefully everyone in my class to take in my teaching or at least share it with someone who may be interested. As I am a dance teacher I thought it would be kinda fun to teach everyone a little bit about it and a quick little movement lesson. I think I am going to make a little tutorial dance video so get your dancing shoes out and either join in the fun or critique my weak video making skills!

Teach Us Something:March Edition(post # 1)

So for my ECMP 455 class we each chose a tool to learn about and are required to teach about it during the month of March. I have chosen Voicethread and thus far I have really been impressed with the functions it provides. While I haven’t done a ton with the tool yet I have created an account and begun to watch the tutorials. Signing up was easy and would be great for classrooms as it wouldn’t waste tons of time just to get an account. I just wanted this post to be an introduction to what I was doing and I will continue to update my learnings about Voicethread throughout the month!