Getting to know Aderhold and each other

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Education Technology, something to be feared?

Many people are afraid of new technologies.  In fact, I recently read that the science fiction writer Issac Asimov was so successful because he included people who feared what technology would bring.  He told stories of people coming with torches and pitchforks to the first space shuttle launch, and this prediction held true when there were many protests to the first shuttle launch.  He made these predictions because he had spent time as a student on a research project looking at peoples' negative responses to technology innovations like trains, automobiles and airplanes. So we will begin class today by looking at educators' responses to technology in the past. This is from a great site called slideshare that lets people exchange powerpoint and other slide presentations.  Maybe that will help you to lessen any fears you have of current technologies in your life.

Getting to know Aderhold and each other: Scavenger Hunt

Many of you may be new to Aderhold, or even if you've been here before may not know all the services available in this building.  So we'll begin with a fun activity that will help you to know the building and each other better.  Scavenger Hunt Time!  (We talked briefly about the deal on microsoft products for students, if you want to get Windows 7 upgrade, you can get it as a student for $29.99 at the microsoft student site)

 

How do we learn?
So – how do you learn what you know? Before today’s class, you wrote a story about a time that you learned how to do something. As a class, we’ll share what we learned and how we learned it. Did your motivation to learn the skill affect how quickly you learned it? Did you utilize some type of learning tool to acquire the skill? Do you still possess the skill? If you were to teach someone this same skill – would you teach them the same way? What does any of this have to do with technology in your life and in your classroom?

What to do we need for Friday.

1. We're going to start building a website on Friday.  So come prepared with some pictures that you can use for your autobiography.
2. Start thinking about what audience you’ll be creating activities for this semester. What grade level: PreK-2, 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12? Are you interested in science, speech therapy, special education, mathematics, history . . . ? We’ll talk more about this on Thursday but you’ll be better off if you have a general idea of your interests beforehand.