Joining the Masses

Fixed my Wiki

2010-04-20T11:06:00.003-07:00

I fixed my Wiki Assignment. Those pages didn't exist when I did the assignment. This link will take you there.

http://k12instructionaltechnology.wikispaces.com/Teacher+Community

Final Post

2010-04-17T15:45:00.001-07:00

My best project was my video that I made below about 1984. Check it out!

Thanks for the great semester Rick!

J.

Class Wiki

2010-04-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here is my class wiki contribution: http://k12instructionaltechnology.wikispaces.com/Jason+Hammon%27s+Lesson+Plan

I was a little confused on where to put the RSS Feed so I included it on my wiki page. If its wrong, please tell me.

I have enjoyed seeing the new technology! Thank you!

Teaching a Family Member

2010-04-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

I waited to teach a family member until Sunday (yesterday.) I was attending a family function and talked with my cousin J. who is 16. He has a facebook page, but is not entirely enamored with technology. We went over the basics, (what is personal information, what should or shouldn't you post etc.) I warned him not to play MMOG's like WOW, as I have a few friends play it to their detriment. Much to my surprise he says that he doesn't do many things with his friends that do play. I was impressed with that. I think he is good to go. Nothing terribly inspiring to report.

Best Work and Internet Safety

2010-04-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

My Best Work was my video of 1984.

For my internet safety assignment, I saw a few videos on netsmart.com for teenagers. They were mildly entertaining but not very substantive. The videos for adults were likewise a little dull. They shared basic information like we covered on our voice thread. I think the real way to learn is actual application. So, perhaps, if an adult were to show their teenagers (I know it is a stretch because it usually works the other way around) a webpage asking for personal information. The adult should show the child what should and shouldn't be given out.

I alos read the following four articles.

Finding and Sharing the Gospel Online
Let Our Voices Be Heard (Elder Ballard)
Just a Game? Ensign article on gaming
Things as They Really Are (Elder Bednar on virtual identities)

I agree with them and realize their importance. Elder Bednar's talk is particularly intrigueing with his doctrinal argument. The sharing is neat, but in my experience, I do not spend my time blogging or "creating" memories. So, I probably should, but I have other things to do right now.

The Just a Game article is basic and enlightening. I have experience with MMOGs. At least when I was in high school. I played to with my friends from high school and then joined a guild. It is addicting. It is exciting. And it is terrible for any social relationships. I have quite a few friends that are caught in that trap and haven't escaped it. I have been able to get away and now I almost exclusively don't play video games or watch TV and Media. There are too many things to do to "rot your brain."

For the second part of this assignment, well, it should be interesting. I have a computer illiterate family so I will have to break it down into basic terms. I hope that they will listen to me, as this subject is usually a sore spot in our family. I'll make an effort to call someone, since I don't have anyone nearby that will count.

IP&T Movie Competition

2010-04-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

The movie competition:

To tell the truth, I thought that they were actually going to show the videos rather than present the idea behind them. Therefore, I didn't actually know what videos did what by the presentations of the competitors. I was a little lost. However, I really liked Beth Yates presentation. That one talked about the literacy of the student's little brother. I think that they hit the motivation aspect of learning new technologies the best. They really tried to keep it simple, yet hit some of the true feelings behind pedagogy.

I also like the presentation that went through the 5 reasons why their presentation was good. I liked the website viewer they created, but I thought it was too complex for practical application. That's a personal opinion though.

All in all, I think these presentations were good. Some were better than others, but I loved seeing the new technology at work!

Jason

2010-03-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hello IP&T 286! I am back in the digital world after completing my video assignment. My video assignment is like a student project that explains part of a book being read in Sociology (1984) with a description and application of a Sociological Term (Solid Modernity). I think it includes all of the requirements found on the webpage. Like in my storyboard, the Utah State Core objective is: OBJECTIVES:
6350-0501
Analyze the causes and effects of discrimination, prejudice and racism.
Example
Describe how and why institutions and individuals apply the following:
assimilation, accommodation, discrimination, and genocide.
This video would be an introduction to the encompassing concept of Solid Modernity, especially through the novel 1984.

P.S. My copyright assignment is below. I completed it late, but I did it in full. I accept any penalty involved.

Story Board

2010-03-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

I want to do my story board on 1984, by George Orwell. I wish to to teach a few sociological concepts found in the book about "Solid Modernity." Here is a link to my storyboard. I hope this link works.

CopyRight

2010-03-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

World War II Speeches

I think that the editor of this video did a really good job. At 3:10 of the video he cites the three different videos that he took the footage from. Then he cites the names of the people who gave the speeches. I think he could have done better by citing the original speeches because I think those quotes would be a little difficult to find. With the music that he uses, he only gives the name of the song, but not who its by or where its from. I think it was a good faith effort though!

WW II Propaganda

This video did an excellent job. At the end, the editor cited where he got his posters from, his music, and multimedia. He did not cite JFK's speech. However, I think he really did a good job to get everything else.

Google Earth. Pretty Dang Cool

2010-03-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

I chose Google earth for my project. I investigated its many tutorials and I am very surprised at the notable features. I toured ancient Rome, looked under the ocean, flew to Mars, and learned how to create virtual tours. My favorite had to be the flight simulator, which I may or may not have spent 45 minutes investigating. Moreover, I decided that the project that my students could use was to explore satellite maps on Google Earth and identify different physical features of the terrain. I would then have them investigate how that particular features, as a part or a whole, affects natural resources and the humans harvesting thereof. My assignment to them is to make a 1-2 minute virtual tour of particular geographic region with audio commentating.

Essentially, my artifact does that in explaining, briefly, succinctly, and generally, the Teton Valley in Idaho. My tour does not follow a "Path" due to how slow it was. Initially I tried mixing the various elements, but ended up with the tour I have attached.

No new Artifact or Lesson Plan

2010-03-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I do not have my artifact or Lesson plan ready for grading. We have worked that out and I hope to finish it on Thursday, which I will promptly post.

However, I can relate my experience last weekend at an Academic Conference! I went to the South Central Society for Eighteenth Century Studies in SLC for about 3 days last week. I was able to go and present some original research, and also learn about many other scholar's research. Also, I was able to network with potential mentors to help me in my paper writing. As I think about the purpose of this blog, I realize that technology is really what is going to allow my network to function correctly. Good ol' basic email allows for some conversation. However, future technology (or existing) could potentially add more interaction between scholars. For example, a blog, or a video conference. If only for the sake of organizing conferences, these technologies will be very useful!
Thanks, I will be posting soon!

2010-02-22T16:47:00.001-08:00

Dear Rick,

I again apologize for not being able to comply with the complete assignment. Thank you for being lenient. I want to do quality work, but realistically this week is not conducive to quality. However, I have looked at my agenda and schedule. In order for me to complete this assignment, I will work on it Mon.-Thurs. of next week. This week I have my Sc Ed 276R class ending with a Final on Wednesday, I took a mid-term today, and I will be presenting a paper at a national conference in Salt Lake City Thursday - Saturday. However, at the beginning of next week my life will change and I will have much time to accomplish a quality piece of work. I am planning on having the complete assignment finished (Project, Lesson plan, and artifact) by Thursday at the latest. Will this be okay? Thank you again for helping me.

I will make time to participate on the voice thread this week. Also, after your email concerning the Smart Boards, I will agree with you that perhaps it will be better to change my topic. I want to choose Google Earth as my new topic. I have played on it briefly before, but only to show my room mate a hiking trail up the Grand Tetons. I am sure that I have barely stuck one toe in the water. I will learn more about it and apply it to a Geography lesson, probably focusing on different types of terrains or biomes.

Thank you again!

Smart Board

2010-02-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

I think for my project I would like to learn about the interactive Smart Boards. I have seen them a few times in school, and I think that they are becoming the most common technology in the schools. Therefore, I think it would be very valuable to learn about them and how to use them.

Early mornings: Late Evenings

2010-02-08T05:42:00.000-08:00

I've come to realize the power of having your own space on the internet that is accessible at any time. I've been having some really long hours at school lately, and haven't been able to work on my projects as much as I'd like to. However, these assignments, especially with the advent of wireless internet in many locations, can be accessed almost anywhere at any time. When you can't sleep late at night, or when you are eating breakfast in the morning... You can be blogging and on the internet. Personally, I can see it developing into a chain of digital dependence, but it sure makes work hours a little bit more flexible.

Technology Reflection

2010-02-01T06:19:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking about teaching and technology recently. I've been a little frustrated with technology for most of my life. Mainly because it takes time to get "fully" connected and feel like you actually know what you are doing. I usually have "better" things to do. You usually don't feel "caught up" either. I also feel that while some schools are venturing into a technological classroom, most are still very behind the times. Therefore, I've been focusing on more traditional modes of instruction. What would happen if technology fails? We've all had a presentation put on hold due to problems with a projector. I think a lot of teaching still has to come from the teacher.

However, I've been thinking about how much technology has changed over the last 10 years. I remember MSDOS and Dial-up internet. We couldn't do hardly anything compared to what we do now. I've thought about my future career in teaching and realized that though I think I'm a little savvy now, in 10 or 15 years, if I am behind now, I will be forever lost in the future.

In the end, I have a little more resolve to try harder to learn technology.

My class Website

2010-01-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

My Class Website is a work in progress. However, here is the URL for it.

http://sites.google.com/site/jasonsiptclassroomsite/home

Competition

2010-01-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

I would like to do the competition. If my group would like to join me that is fine: however, I do need email addresses to comply with the registration by today. This would be for a Social Science/Study Project. If no one wants to do it, I won't be hurt. I just tried the registration form and it requires at least 2 people to be on the team.

Jason

Google Reader

2010-01-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

I found a couple different blogs for my google reader. I found two that related to Rudolf Steiner, an education Philosopher, which may be fruitful in the future. I am writing a few papers on him. (http://www.bacwtt.org/feed, http://www.rsarchive.org/RSArchive.rss) I also uploaded the PBS link (http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/rss2/index.xml), and the Teachertube (http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/rss2/index.xml). These are links to resources and videos posted by other teachers. Finally, I connected myself to a set of historical journals. The latest being for the History of Ideas (http://feeds.muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_ideas/latest_issues.xml ). I have a few more, like famous Goethe quotes, but thats about it. I am writing a paper on him also (. Cheers.

I added a widget, look at me!

2010-01-07T15:31:00.001-08:00

So... I have one class that requires me to read 10 books. So I decided to make a list. That way I can remove each book as I read it throughout the semester. Great, huh?

In the beginning...

2010-01-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

In the beginning was the word, known as "logos." The logos is the basis of what we use in language. However, rearrange the letters, and you get "gools." Add an "e" for email and a "g" for good measure and we are left with "google." And now, google offers me Blogger.

I have succumbed to my technological world. I have become one of the masses. A nameless thought producer whose prose is only riding the river of irreversible information. i.e. the internet. Alas, am I really connected? Will someone actually find this page and view my insignificant mutterings?

On a happier note, maybe I am merely expressing nostalgia for happier days of interpersonal communication. In technology, I only fear the unknown!

Welcome to my first experimental blog page.

Experience with technology? Well, it used to be extensive, but it has long passed me by. However, this class (yes this is actually a school assignment) will help me reconnect with my past.