Another "Nerds" reflection

As I have had more time to absorb and reflect on the documentary, I have gained a greater appreciation for it and the journey it entails. It is actually quite inspirational. It is a reminder that technology and its advancements are like a whole other world to be explored. I am not a huge techy, but I appreciate the technology and the smarts of the people who develop it. It also causes me to be appreciative of certain aspects of this program that have exposed me to aspects of technology that, no doubt, I never would have experienced. I really look forward to creating Nings for my engineering classes next year. It is neat to hear how Twitter is playing a significant role in Iranian protests and to think that we learned about it six months to a year ago. It is so very nice to be knowledgeable about these topics. Knowledge truly is power, and since so much of our life contains so much technology, knowledge of this technology is empowering. I guess that is why I find the "Nerds" movie to be inspiring, even though it seems like ancient history (especially when you see those 90's era eyeglasses). Anyway, good movie, I can't wait for the sequel.

Computer Architecture and Nerds

Really am looking forward to the class. Never had too much time to open the inside of a computer before--neat assignment. I really enjoyed the nerds movie. I was disappointed that Anthony Edwards and that Ogre guy weren't in it though. It's funny watching Jobs and Gates and thinking back to college and how the Computer Science people all looked like them. This stuff really is amazing though. It is interesting to think how different a perspective toward computers my children will grow up with compared to me.

New Jing fan!

Wow! I have had a lot of fun messing around with Jing and Screencast. This technology can be so useful to me in my engineering courses. This year, I am teaching Civil Engineering and Architecture. The students have an architecture CAD program that they must learn. I am very excited right now, but I will try to be brief: Instead of always showing student what to do with the CAD software via my computer and a projector, I could create a series of tutorials via screencast! I made one here. It does not have audio--I need a microphone. Anyway--very excited--gotta go.

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The Children Will Lead Us

I received an e-mail from a student the other day letting me know that the JV soccer team has a blog. If it wasn't for this program, I don't know if I would have understood or even cared. But I checked it out and it's not bad.

As a coach, I understand how sports can be used to help students find their way through school. Just like academics, it is important for athletes to take ownership in their team. Blogs are a tool that allow this to happen.

New Class--More to Think About

What I have liked about this first week, is that in the articles that we have read and through the discussion that has ensued, I'm getting some good ideas. While we have learned about web gadgets here and there, it seems that the blog (with all of the 2.0 stuff) may be the most useful for education. It is a tool that can be used to teach and learn from. The possibilities are numerous, and hey--the kids already spend so much time online, so why not. Web 2.0 stuff has stimulated some debate within our study group about its role and the role of more traditional education. That kind of debate is good. It simply amazes me how much is out there ready to be used. I wish that I had more time.

Change Boardgame

I found the game to be very interesting and well thought out. In the days that followed playing the game, I had one recurring and discouraging thought: Educational change can be a huge waste of time. I mean the beaurocratic undertones of the game became downright annoying. "Communicate with so and so and so and so will be on board. Make sure you report to him so that he likes us." While that is a reality in many facets of life, it is annoying and can bog a good group down.

The other conclusion that we were suppose to reach from this game is that change is slow. Well, sometimes change is too slow, especially when it comes to pleasing the right people just to get ahead. On the other hand, slow change can be good if it means that education can avoid disasters such as ebonics and the bad fuzzy math. (Some fuzzy math ideas are valid.)