Tools for the Mind

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY

OVERVIEW
Mary Burns in the article,
"Tools for the Mind" addresses what the use of computers in education has brought to society. She begins by reviewing articles in the 1990's. In these articles is was hoped that computers would have a much more intellectual value in education today. The way computers are used in education today does not allow them to be utilized to their full potential. It is often thought computers are more for visual pleasure than deeper intellectual thought.

In the typical classroom the computer is often used only to show animations or presentations, as Mary Burns puts it, "show and tell". Computers can be used for much more complicated and in depth tasks but are often not. They are typically not used for such because they are not as appealing and appear to be much more confusing. The reason they are much more confusing is that many are not computer literate in that area, such as spreadsheets. A solution to this illiteracy is allowing students to create and analyze the information being entered.

REFERENCE POINTS

• Technology was thought to bring more intellectual value to schools today than what is available.
• Classroom computers are more often or not used for visual presentation that true interaction or technology.
• Computers are not used to full capacity.
• Usually not used to full capacity due to lack of educator ability.
• Technology is found to be confusing.

REFLECTION
The ability of instant, anonymous participation using clickers is amazing.  Being able to ask a question where all students have to respond with their clicker allows an instant reading of understanding or comfort levels of the information. The classroom I am in this year uses allot of technology. This technology also creates games that allow the students to challenge each other during test reviews.  I have to say I am all for technology. Today's students are natives to technology. If we want to communicate effectively with students we should do what can to engage them..

Conservation Presentation

VISUAL CRITIQUE

THOUGHTS....
Talk about a time consuming project for such a short video presentation. This project was very informational.It definitely taught me new technology skills.  Was it worth all the time that was put into it?....I hope so. I actually know so the first time is always harder.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
When watching yourself give a presentation it is hard to focus on anything but your faults. I feel that the person that is hardest on you is yourself.


WEAKNESSES
The first weakness is my visual presence. I look akward.I find myself looking at my unfit body. Rather than listening to the presentation. The second weakness was that I found that not presenting to an audience is difficult. I really like having the one-on-on discussions and interaction. Without an audience there I seem to rush through. I also have more of a tendancy to say, so and um instead of just pausing. Without questions I don't explain things in as much detail. Third weakness, I found that having a cordless advance for PowerPoint's on a projector is great but looks a little weird. Especially when you are trying to advance the screen. It seemed to break the flow of the presentation. Fifth and final weakness, I have a tendency to rock back and forth.  I think this comes from having an infant. Either way rocking back and forth can be distracting.

STRENGTHS
I have very few strengths when it comes to recorded presentations. Actually presenting in general or so I feel now. The video recording of our project has turned me off inclined me to say no to giving recorded only presentations. I usually feel comfortable standing in front of a class. Now after watching myself I am uncomfortably self conscious. I however still love talking to my students. I really enjoy giving them bits of information and watching them put the piece together to create a whole. A strength from watching the video is that my voice projects fairly well and I work well with others, I found listening and collaborating to be a very valuable trait (thank you Amy).
To view the video footage of the presentation go to: Conservation Presentation

To access the PowerPoint presentation go to: PowerPoint Presentation

Publish Post

To access the excel spreadsheet that was used to calculate the kilowatts used go to: Conservation Excel Spreadsheet

Energy Conservation Powerpoint

FLORESCENT vs. INCANDESCENT

This project was very INFORMATIVE and ENLIGHTENING. I discovered that the push to use fluorescent light bulbs in place of incandescent light bulbs is not all it's cracked up to be. In many cases you will save kWh and therefore save money except, in places like Sitka. In Sitka oil is the main source of heating. It isn't very GREEN or cost effective so the use of incandescent lights is better. Incandescent lights actually help to heat the house and are less expensive than oil since they are electric. In Sitka the electric is actually GREENER since we have a hydroelectric plant. I also realized that you aren't simply charged per kWh hours it actually depends on how many hours you use. For example, up to 200 kWh is 14.7 cents, 201 to 1,000 kWh is 8.01 cents and then over 1,000 is 9.18 cents.

In many places the switch from incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent light bulbs may actually be GREENER. You may save some money but that isn't always the case. So before you run out and buy fluorescent bulbs to replace your incandescent light bulbs find out a few facts:

• Is your main source of heating for oil?
•  is your electric generated from a hydroelectric plant?

If you answered yes to any of the previous questions switching from incandescent to fluorescent may actually not be conserving energy.

You can view the PowerPoint at the following link: Energy Conservation Presentation