Observe Clouds and Observe Precipitation

I watched two video podcast in the Grades K-5 section. Both of these videos were very interesting and could very well be used in the classroom. The first one I watched one I viewed was "Observe Clouds." This video podcast observed clouds for half a minute and showed how clouds move and change shape. The other video podcast I watched was "Observe Precipitation." This podcast showed different forms of precipitation.

The first podcast I watched can be used in the classroom when you are studying a lesson on clouds. I know students at some point study the different types of clouds and the way they move and change shape. This video is a very good example of how they move and change shape. It would be very beneficiary to students who are not understanding the full concept.

The second podcast could also be very helpful in the classroom. The video podcast showed that precipitation can come in the form of rain, snow, and hail. There are some other types of precipitation but these that are covered in this podcast could give the students a first hand look when you are teaching the different forms.

There are other video podcast like the ones I viewed that are also a good source of information for school teachers. As a future teacher I think that I would be one of the teachers that do introduce these videos into the classroom so the students can learn more because these days more students are visual learners.

The Edible Schoolyard AND A Night in the Global Village

The first podcast I listened to was "The Edible Schoolyard". The edible schoolyard refers to an outdoor classroom at Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkeley, CA. This school has a garden where kids spend their morning planting, watering, and tending to the crops. This gives the students a chance to participate in something that they may not really associate with school work. The teachers use the garden to relate things to Social Studies, Math, Science, and Life. The students get to go through the whole process of growing crops and get a better understanding.

I think that this podcast could be used in the classroom or maybe even take things from this podcast to make your students more involved. As future educators we need to have the means to make school fun and want the kids to learn and not be kept up inside the whole time. This podcast could give students the extra push to want to make a difference in their school.

The other podcast I listened to was "A Night in the Global Village". This podcast was very interesting. It was about a Heifer Ranch set up in Perryville, AK. At this ranch students are taught the importance of walking in someone else shoes through poverty and hunger. On this five acre ranch different living conditions are set up to simulate different countries. The students are put into groups and have to live in the conditions of the country they are assigned. The students have to bargain with the surrounding other villages in order to get food, water, or maybe even for their fire. These students get an up close experience of being in poverty and being hungry.

I think that this podcast would be a great one to use as a future educator. This podcast teaches the importance of different cultures and the conditions that they live in. In this podcast some of the students even had to act as if they were pregnant or had the lose of an arm. I thought this to serve even more as an example of how people of poverty live because not are healthy and have to deal with difficult situations.

Overall I liked both of these podcast they serve as a great educational tool for us as future educators and give us some advice on issues we may need to address.

Podcast

Most of the Podcast that we had to listen to all started out with some sort of music. I guess this was to draw you in a little more than just announcing what your going to talk about. When I first heard the music I automatically assumed the podcast were going to be interesting, little did I know not all of them were. Some of the podcast presented very interesting information while others I would have rather not listened to.

I really enjoyed "ed tech talk". This particular podcast had a few hosts and had guests that participated in their discussions. This wasn't just a podcast that they sat there and talked the whole time, the hosts and guests actually tried out the different techniques they were discussing. This podcast also has a website that listeners can go on and give them feedback or ask questions. Some of the questions presented to them they even address on the air.

I found "kidcast" to be very boring. The host for this podcast was just so dry with how he presented the information. I really couldn't get into this podcast because of how boring it was. I can't get interested in something that is just monotone. I think that this podcast could have been better if there was more than one host. Podcast do better when you have someone to give you feedback or discuss different areas with you.

After listening to these podcast I don't know if I am ready or not to present mine in class. I don't like talking in front of people much less being recorded to be put on the internet where anyone can listen. I just hope that my podcast is more interesting than some of these that we had to listen to.

Randy Pausch's Last Speech

Randy Pausch's Last Speech was wonderful. It was a great lecture to view and very interesting. His speech begins by telling of the childhood dreams that he had and how it is important to dream as a child. He went on to tell how each dream that he had was obtained and not just left behind.

I really enjoyed the "brick wall" metaphor that Randy Pausch used. He refereed to "brick walls" being the things that keep us from achieving our goals. The "brick walls", as he explains are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out but are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. He also says the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t really want it badly enough. I completely agree with this. If someone wants something bad enough you aren't going to give up just because something is trying to come in your way.

Randy Pausch believed that being a good teacher was what made learning interesting and fun. He helped sponsor a program called the Entertainment Technology Center. It had a project based curriculum and there were no textbooks. In this program he wanted feedback from the students. It gave the students a chance to give feedback of their peers and to improve. Through this program "Alice" was created. "Alice" is a "head fake" style of teaching students to computer program. It teaches students to program while they feel they are creating virtual reality.

Randy Pausch believed it was also an important role of the teacher to learn from the students. He went on to say how he had learned some important lessons from his students and how he had gave back to them. He believed that everyone should show gratitude and be appreciative. I really enjoyed the speech and I'm very glad that I got to watch it. He gives teachers a incite on how they should respond to their students and how to succeed.