Coral Reef Video Cast

Video casts are a new thing to me. I really have never explored all the features available through iTunes. It is amazing at the number of video casts that are available to watch. The types and topics are abundant. Of course, the educational ones are the ones that we have been looking at and they are great. These videos are of very good quality and information and would be suitable to be shown in the classroom as an educational tool.

The one that I watched was "Energy in the Coral Reef" by WGBH. It was really a good video cast. It was really similar to a documentary type film. It talked how the coral provided energy to the reef. The sun gives energy to the coral, the fish eat the coral and the food chain continues. The light energy provided form the sun is converted to chemical energy. The video did a great job of laying out the entire process pf how the reef gets energy. It was very detailed and fun to watch.

These video casts are pretty cool. They are short for the most part and very good. The broad base of topics makes these very useful to teachers. It gives the teachers one more resource to use in the classroom. It is always nice to have something else that backs up what you have taught.

I have never made a video cast, but I am left wondering how hard they would be to make. I know in the field I am going into that it would be pretty cool to make instructional videos and post them. It would be neat to show proper technique and form in different exercises and drills.

Edutopia Ideas

I never would have thought that a garden could be used for education. Apparently someone at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkley, California, thought it could be and they were right. The idea is ingenious. The credit goes to Alice Waters, who was the chef at the school when she had the idea. Not only does the garden teach them about nature, but there are so many other things that are taught through the garden, for example mathematics. The educational opportunities abound with this program. Children learn healthy food, nutritional value, proper diet, portion sizes and so many other things that are lacking in today's society that has in part led to the high obesity rate in our country.

This is one of the coolest ideas that I have ever seen in the school system. I think it is a great idea. now personally, if you had told me that there was an "edible schoolyard" my thought would have been that it was located somewhere in the Southeast. I was surprised when they said that this was located in California. This is an area that needs to be emphasized more, as far as nutrition and food. Alabama has one of the highest rates of obesity in the United States, and personally I am not proud to say that I live in the state that has that label. I think if there was more of emphasis on the knowledge that can be learned through a program like this, there would be a decrease in the obesity rate in future generations. Fr the most part, kids dietary habits are learned from their parents and this school is doing something that has an impact on the future.



The Global Village is an experience offered through the Global Gateway Program. The global village is located on the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. The program is an experience that focuses on poverty and hunger. At the village there are different types of living conditions set up, for example, Guatemala, Thailand, Zimbabwe, a refuge camp and some others. The purpose of the village is to give people and students a real life look into the unfortunate situations that some people must live in. You often times hear something and it does not affect you majorly, but if you see it and feel it you grasp the reality and severity of the situation.

I think the purpose of the Global Village is brilliant. It gives students the opportunity to see what children their own age are going through in other countries. It shows them that those other kids are less fortunate and that every day is a struggle for survival in some cases. The kids get a hands on experience which is priceless. The more you actually do something yourself, the more you gain from the situation. The village brings the information that may be otherwise taught in a text book to life.

Podcasts

To be honest with you I had never really listened to a podcast before this assignment. It was neat to listen and see what they really are and the way in which they are presented. Of course, the topics we listened to are education related, but I can see how these are used by all different kinds of people for different uses.

The set up is much like a radio broadcast. They tell who they are and what they are going to be talking about. If there is more than one person talking they share their individual insight and opinion. They offer advice and even take phone calls during some podcasts. It is also neat that these people can collaborate ideas from hundred miles away. They are not required to be in the same place at the same time.

The SmartBoard Lesson podcast was one that interested me. It was moderated by Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger. It started off with an intro and some background music. I must admit the music was a little cheesy. Mr. Hazzard came on and introduced himself and the topic in which they were going to be covering. After that he introduced his co host Ms. Badger and they chatted back and forth for a second. These two podcasters are from Canada and lives hours apart from each other. They seemed to mesh well and cover the topic thoroughly.

Listening to the podcasts was a good thing for me. It gave me a chance to see how they were done. The order of events, the style, the enthusiasm etc. With our assignment coming, this is going to help out a lot. It was also good to see how many different topics there are out there. There is a podcast for just about anything one could want!

Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

I had heard of the "Last Lecture" a couple of times from various friends for some time now. They all raved about how this powerful and intriguing lecture. After watching it for myself I agree with all of them. To be able to stand on front of 400 people and give a lecture about your life knowing that you will soon die is astonishing, and he did it with such poise and gracefulness. Randy Pausch suffered from pancreatic cancer. Randy Pausch lost his battle with cancer July 25, 2008.

The title of the lecture was "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". The first method I noticed in his lecture was organization. His thoughts were very organized and his slides reflected that. He did not just stand up at the podium and ramble about whatever came to his mind. The first part of his lecture was about his childhood dreams. He wanted to play in the NFL, be Captain Kurk, be an Disney Imagineer and a couple of other things as well. Pausch went through and told how he accomplished or at least attempted these dreams and the experiences that followed. He showed that no matter what yours dreams are, they are your dreams and you should try to accomplish them.

One thing that really stuck out to me about Pausch's teaching was when he started talking about his Masters class. He didn't give tests, quizzes or lectures. Heck, he didn't even make them buy a book. The first day of class he split the class up into teams. The teams were responsible for creating a virtual world. He talked about that at that point they weren't going to learn anything else from a book and that the best way to learn was to have hands on experience. The revealings of these turned into a big ordeal among other students. One thing that he said that really stood out to me. One of his group of students showed them their project early and he said that he was absolutely stunned. They exceeded his expectations immensely. Instead of sayin "wow, that is awesome", he said "good job, but I know you can do better". He didn't want to set a bar on their ability, he wanted to push that bar as high as it would go and that really stood out to me.

Randy Pauch's life was one of great impact. He influenced and challenged them all. He wanted them to do their best. He was a focused individual. He was someone that people looked to for help and advice. He was a positive man in the face of death. He was a great teacher. He was dedicated to his profession and to his students. The "Last Lecture" was definately worth the time to watch.