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Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy and his family

I watched Randy Pausch’s last lecture and I thought the video was very good. He seemed so happy even though he had cancer. He showed the audience that he was in good health by doing some pushups quite a few times. He also told the audience not to feel sad for him because that was not what he wanted from anyone. He showed them what he was not going to talk about because he didn’t find the topics important and wanted to have a fun time for his last lecture.

During his lecture, Pausch talks about his dreams as a kid and what he did and did not accomplish. He wanted to be in zero gravity, play in the NFL, write an article for the World Book encyclopedia, be Captain Kirk, win stuffed animals, and be a Disney Imagineer. He had a lot of dreams and accomplished a few but not all of them and he was fine with that. Since he did not get everything he wanted he said he learned many great things. From not playing in the NFL he learned even though you may not get as far as you want, you still learn many great things to use through life such as teamwork, discipline, sportsmanship, and fundamentals because without these things, he wouldn’t have got to where he has been.

He said a few things in the lecture that meant a lot to him, “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted”, “Wait, and people will surprise you,” and lastly “Don’t bail, the best gold is found at the bottom of barrels of crap.” He also talked about being self reflective because this can be the best thing for someone to learn how to use. It can help a person to better his or herself to be able to get along better with as a co-worker and a person. This can help many, many people accomplish many great things in their lives and help other accomplish much, much more. He also states you could be a Tigger or a Eeyore, and with this he meant you could be energetic and fun or sad and depressed and apparently he was a tigger because he never seemed down on himself.

His lecture makes you think about what he wants you to use in your life: be happy no matter what, have as much fun as you possibly can, help anyone any chance you can, be a good or better influence on a person, be prepared for what can happen. He also wanted people to know that you need to be good at something because that makes you valuable to someone else. These are some great things to know for anyone to use in their life.

The last few things that I enjoyed were that he didn’t do this lecture for himself or the audience but for his children. He wanted to leave them a lesson to learn from and to live by in their lives. The other was even though this was his last lecture; he didn’t leave all of the focus on him but rather shared it with his wife by bringing out a birthday cake for her and sang her happy birthday along with the rest of the audience. These are the reasons why I enjoyed this video and thought the Randy Pausch was a good teach and a better person to every person he has influenced in his life.

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I agree with Karl Fisch, a teacher must be technologically literate. Technology is our future so our future leaders, children, should be taught about it. Often times teachers that do not understand technology will not use it in the classroom to familiarize his or her student of new advancements. I believe you can relate this back to what Mr. McClung talked about in his post. Teachers should not be afraid of technology and should never stop learning. Technology changes every day so teachers should stress about knowing everything because no one does but at the same time they should not be afraid to try something because they do not know how it works.

I have encountered several teachers with narrow minded thought about technology. I remember when I was in elementary school there were only two computers in the class and you could only use them if you finished your work early. I did not have a single computer class in middle school. My freshman year in high school I was forced to take a basic computer typing class. My teacher was out on maternity leave so we had a coach fill in for her and he did not care what we did as long as we did not bother him while he did his online shopping. I did not take my first real computer class till my freshman year of college. It was an introductory to Microsoft 2007 and although it was the most informative computer class I have had it did not teach me about the internet.

Technology is changing the way we live, so why not the way we teach. I don’t believe teachers need to know everything about technology but they should have a basic concept and be open to learning new things. I believe I am technologically literate but I also know I still have a lot to learn.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

A Vision of Students Today

Being a college student today is extremely tough and Michael Wesch’s video “A Vision of Students Today “exposes that to its audience. The video discusses the effects of large classrooms on a student. It is hard for students to focus on the subject being discussed if they cannot see or hear it from their seat. It also makes it harder to ask your professor a question because they are often times too busy to care about his or her students. I personally have not experienced this because I elected to attend Faulkner State Community College before transferring to the University of South Alabama. All of my classes have been relatively small and my teachers knew my name by the second week of class.

Money issues were also covered in the video. I can relate to these problems being a nineteen year old young woman on her own trying to put herself through school. School only allows you to go to work twenty five hours a week so money is tight to cover bills and gas to get to school but on top of that you have other test you have to take such as the APTT and shell out more money and time. Sometimes you cannot buy groceries because you have to buy your text books, other referred readings and computer software. This stress in return makes it harder to focus on your scholarly duties.

Wesch’s video also discussed technology and its effects on the classroom. People are glued to their phones and laptops. I do not use my cell phone in class other than to check the time or mark important due dates in my calendar. Some students on the other hand text, play games, and surf the internet on their phones in class. I find that in appropriate, I am paying for this class which is continuously interrupted by the sounds of cell phones. I do not bring my laptop to class but I know a lot of students that do and I believe it adds to the many distractions in the classroom. Students often times bring their laptop to class to surf the net and chat with people rather than to take notes or research the topic being discussed. I think technology can enhance the classroom if used correctly but often times it is not used appropriately.

"What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung

What I've Learned This Year

I recently read Mr. McClung’s post titled “What I’ve Learned This Year” in which enlightened me to several things. In his post he discusses the things he learned in the classroom during his first year of teaching. Mr. McClung covers seven main topics: how to read the crowd, being flexible, communication, being responsible, not being afraid of technology, listening to your students and never stop learning.

Mr. McClung spoke volumes in a few short paragraphs and I completely agree with his advice. Teachers should focus their lesson plans more on their student rather than their colleges. If a teacher is focused more on making a good impression on their colleges than on the student, then the student is often left struggling to keep up. A teacher should also try to be flexible because nothing ever goes exactly to plan. As a teacher you must also have good communication skills in order to solve all the problems that will be presented to you. Teachers should also have a certain level of responsibility. Set expectations and have goals for your students but do not punish them if they fall short instead encourage them to try again. Technology is a way of life and teachers should not be afraid of it but they do not have to be masters of technology. I believe one of the most important things for a teacher to do is to listen to his or her students. I believe this effects the student more than anything. It shows the student that you care about he or she and it forms strong bonds of trust. The final thing Mr. McClung discussed was how a teacher should never stop learning and I completely agree. I believe no one should ever feel they are intelligent enough to stop learning because new facts are discovered every day. A teacher can learn on a day to day basis by so many different forms like their students, colleges, workshops, news, and the internet.

Mr. McClung’s post gave me as a future teacher a better incite to what to expect in my first year of teaching. No matter how many classes you take to prepare for teaching it still is not the same as hands on learning experience. I think that is what his post covered, the topics that you are not taught in the classroom but the ones you learn when you are placed in your first classroom.

The Technologically Literate Teacher

As I watched last semester’s EDM 310 class video cast called Tech Literate Teach I thought about what I could do different. I thought the videocast was put together very well it just needs to be smoothed out around the edges.

The first thing I will do to improve the quality of my videocast is connect more with the audience. The students did not look at the camera when they spoke and I felt this made them seem distant and boring. It was hard to focus on the speaker because I could barely tell which one was speaking. If the students would have simply been aware of where the camera was at all times and looked at it while speaking instead of turning away from the camera I feel it would have improved the video a lot.

The students also lacked charisma. I believe that is because they were reading from their papers most of the time. I did not feel the student’s passion for the subject which in return did not ignite my passion for the subject. The students spoke in a block like format that showed little emotion about the topic being discussed. I believe if the students would have spoke freely and reacted with each other the video would have show more raw emotion about the subject.

I also believe the show could have used a better hook to grab their audiences’ attention. I am not saying the show should be so overwhelmed with special effects that the message is drowned out but there needs to be a good balance. I think simply sound effects can be used to enhance the videos’ appeal. They could have used a clapping sound effect for introductions. Also the camera could move to focus on the current speaker and show different angles to keep the viewers eyes intrigued. Overall the videocast was a great beginner videocast it was very basic and straight forward which can become boring to watch but with a few slight adjustments can improve its appeal to the audience.

I also viewed The benefits of podcasting in the classroom to enhance my knoldge of podcasts and better prepare me for creating my own.

I truly enjoyed reviewing this podcast I found it to be very informative. Hearing the many advantages of using podcasts in the class room was astonishing. Teachers can make a podcast of all their lectures and post them on a class website. Students can use this feature in several different ways. If a student is home sick he or she can still view the class lecture so they do not fall behind. The student can also use the podcast to isolate different areas of the lecture they did not understand the first time it was presented. The podcast can also be used as a review for tests.

Teachers can take the podcast one more step and allow the student to make the podcast for the lecture. This will sparks creativity and higher levels of thinking. The podcast make learning fun and interactive which intrigues them to continue learning. Students can engage in role playing to create impressionable podcast for their classmates. This teaches students more than just the lesson being discussed it also teaches them computer skills and instills them with confidence.

In conclusion podcast are a wonderful way to enhance the classroom if used properly. The only down side I see to it is not every family has a home computer with internet access. Growing up as a child in my parent house we did not have a computer. I believe more people have computers now but not all families can afford them. This can make it really difficult for those children to keep up with the material in the classroom and ultimately succeed.