All That and More

I’ve been busy writing a paper for a different STI class and I’ve been listening to Pandora- forgetting how much better I work when I’m listening to music.  I can’t work and watch TV- I’m distracted by the images.  With music, I can sing along but think at the same time.  It’s an interesting phenomenon for me!

Pandora is like TiVo for Internet radio.  OK, so it doesn’t record the music but it does search for music you might like using songs and artists that you’ve entered.  If a song is played that you don’t like, you give it a thumbs down.  If you give a particular artist 2 thumbs down, that station won’t play that artist again.  What’s nice about Pandora is that you can customize different types of stations.  For example, I have 2 stations that I’ve set up already; Chill Songs and Rock.  Chill Songs includes music from Jack Johnson, Norah Jones and John Mayer.  Rock includes Tom Petty, Billy Joel and the Eagles.  Soon, I will establish a station based on classic rock- perfect for Led Zeppelin, the Who and the Beatles. 

I’ve used Pandora in my 10th grade classroom for writing assignments or during group work sessions.  This helps the kids focus better and even creates a connection between me and those kids who share my taste in music.  I have, sometimes, allowed the kids to choose their own artists and they found the site fun to explore.  It’s always nice to connect to students in a new way- it helps in the long run!

Maybe I found a way to deal with my previous post…

 I have been asked to be the faculty advisor for Amnesty International, a group dedicated to human rights preservation.  My position would allow me to create opportunities to inform the public, along with the kids of course, of the various injustices committed around the world.  The kids and I can truly promote awareness and activism and hopefully, limit the amount of insensitivity I’ve witnessed. 

Visiting the AI website gave me so many great ideas and I would love to use the technology I’ve learned to increase our activism.  I would love to do a video-conference with nations undergoing major issues.  We could create a blog dedicated to increasing awareness- maybe a Q & A blog that allows us to answer the questions of concerned citizens.  Various human rights groups will be added to my RSS page- maybe on the blog site as well.  Lots of ideas to think bout this summer!  

My final unit for my tenth grade class is designed around a UN Conference simulation.  I chose the theme of Developing Africa to show the kids the massive instability of the entire continent.  We broke into groups with specific topics to research.  The requirement was to submit a 3-page research paper and to create an engaging presentation to convey the information discovered.  Many of the groups did exactly that, with a little flair and certainly the emotional touch with graphic images and film clips.  I was proud of what they brought to the class.  My concern, however, lies within the audience. 

One particular student thought it appropriate to make jokes and draw cartoons during various presentations.  This rude behavior distracted not only the peers sitting near the culprit but also the presenters.  Aside from the rude behavior, which was addressed, I was more offended that the student didn’t take the topics and information seriously.  The groups presented research on AIDS, poverty and child soldiers, including staggering statistics about death rates, pictures of malnourished children, of wounded children forced into an army.  Yet, this one student appeared to have no affect, barely watched the videos, and laughed at the most inappropriate times.  Did he really care?  Or did he separate himself from the situation to protect himself– to avoid the emotion?  I know not all students are this way, many do care tremendously.  But it’s the blatant disregard that really upsets me.  How do we teach them to care?       

Me and my friend Rachel took this class to become technologically savvy.  We convinced another friend, Deborah, to take this class, as well.  We have learned to create and sign up for blogs and this is my first one.  I hope that Rachel will stop making fun of my spelling- she’s making me very self-conscious.    Oh wait, she just apologized.  It’s ok now.  Maybe I need some spelling lessons from Deborah.

 I am looking forward to this class.  I really enjoy implementing technology in my classroom beyond taking notes on the smart board.  I would like to do more videoconferencing and begin a blog based on current events in my class room.  I think this is a great way to encourage participation in a less intimidating way.