Just like both of you, I have enjoyed the Full Sail journey a lot, I have grown as a person, but I have missed so much as a newlywed. I feel constantly overworked, tired, frustrated, and stressed and, many times, I just wish I could say "yes, let's go camping in the Smokies and not worry about the time", or "yes, I'd like to sit down and watch a 3-hour movie with you", or "how about I cook something this evening" or "let's drive for ten hours until we reach the beach and come just on time (around 7:30 a.m. Monday) to make it to work!" but I haven't. I hate the feeling of "I'm 'wasting' time" when I'm having the time of my life with the man of my life. I can't wait for graduation. I can't wait to feel good 'wasting' time. I can't wait to live again.
I really liked the whole book and I read the whole four chapters in about an hour. It was an easy read and, in my case, it touched me in different levels. Watch my visual collage to see what I mean (find the link below). I’m sorry to hear that it was not all that for you. However, I admit that it was the “Giving an A” chapter where I connected with the text. In my entry post I share how my parents gave me an A at age 13 when I was in a country with a language I didn’t know and how that made a significant impact in my life.
And I agree with you in that there has to be more research on that issue because I think giving an A is a very empowering tool. One idea that comes to mind is bringing in the concept of gaming in education. I remember from our Gaming course here at Full Sail that some of my classmates were using a point system rather than a grading scale for part of their Action Research. I would like to know how that went and we also have to keep in mind that some systems are very traditional and would not allow for something like this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts I have found them enlightening.
Ok. So this was a great read: The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander.
I was so inspired that I made this visual collage from pictures that I have taken over the years. Take a look at it!
I was touched in so many levels by the first four chapters of this book. And, I feel like sharing this personal anecdote.
In 1996, my whole family moved to the U.S. from Mexico because my dad was getting his master's degree. My sister and I did not know any English and this was the day before school. Our parents called us to the living room and told us something that went like this: we want you to know that to us you are the most beautiful, intelligent, funny, and amazing daughters in the whole world and nothing or no one will make us think differently of you. We know that you don't know any English. We know that you will struggle, and when you get a failing grade, we want you to know that we will see an A because we see the effort you put in, because we see you growing, because we see you becoming women of outstanding character. Don't worry about grades, go live and enjoy our two years here. Make the most of it and if in the way, your grades happen to be A's, so be it... That evening, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders, I was no longer scared, I was ready to take over the world!
Needless to say, my sister and I did extremely well. Due to language immersion, we were proficient in English within 4 months. I went on to tutor in Spanish, French, and Chemistry after school and took some extra courses to graduate a year early. My parents believed in me and that made the difference. I was given an A and the rest was history.
I just recently saw this YouTube video. You may have seen it already somewhere else. I just thought that it is worth sharing given the questions that it raises about our current Education practices and paradigms.
More than eye-opening it encourages reflection of our self-praxis in the classroom and beyond as we seek to prepare our students for a century that is ever-evolving, ever-uncertain, and with a tons of possibilities beyond our wildest imagination.
I've been looking for creative and inspiring sources that nurture our passion for technology in education. I have found these two podcasts that may be of use to you, check them out and let me know what you think. I got several good ideas from them.
Technology 4 Teachers Browsing to the iTunes store I found this podcast and I listened to a few, it seems to be a very useful podcast for educators like ourselves that would like to know what technology other teachers are using and how that is working for them. It’s great that it also has a blog where you can share your comments, questions, and concerns. So, it’s more of a two-way discussion.
TILT – Teachers Improving Learning with Technology This is another podcast where you can learn about what technology is being used by other educators to get ideas and insights about how to do the same in your classroom. The cool thing about this podcast is that it is open, so you can send them a podcast that they may share. However, it does not have a blog where you can discuss the content of any of the video or audio podcasts you listen to, if you want to share anything it has to be via e-mail.
I totally understand your fear. I also try to use my own pictures and now, more than ever, I try to keep updating my visual repertoire. I teach Spanish, so I have to use a lot of visuals in my vocabulary and grammar presentations. However, when I ran out of pictures, I use Microsoft Clip Art as we can use them since we have bought a license with them. I also ask my students to bring in their own pictures or to use Clip Art for their projects, and I always ask them to cite properly. I feel like I just can't be safe enough. I think that copyright culture as it stands right now is a culture of fear and punishment and I think it should be different. I think that there should be right to ownership and yet freedom to take in what has been given to us and create from it our own understanding. Where there's freedom, there's growth and learning. I still think that copyright is necessary, especially to protect and honor the creator, but I think that its fundamentals need to be reexamined. At the core, that's what the culture of remix that we saw in Good Copy Bad Copy is all about.
Response based on Jacqueline Jones original reading blog post: You definitely can offer us first-hand experience on this issue. Sometimes, it's hard to tell where all those fees go and if they are not going into the right hands, well, artists are the ones that get hurt the most. Yet, even if there were no illegal sharing of material, I wonder if the artists themselves would make more money, it seems that a large sum of what we pay when we buy a CD goes to the label and not all to the artist. I think that we need to redesign the way we acknowledge ownership and the way we go about sharing so that the artist or creator gets the most out of it and, at the same time, allows for freedom to edit and create beyond our wildest imagination, don't you think?
Hi. Here's the visual aid to my reflection about Copyright Issues. Below you will find some questions that I think are worth considering.
Bullets for thought:
* Copyright Law, a culture of fear and punishment? * Fair Use, is it fair to all parties involved? * Remix Culture, where are its limits? * Creative Commons, is this what the future holds?
Please let me know what you think by leaving comments below. Thank you.
