The World Is Flat reflection

Reflecting back on The World Is Flat, I think about so much that is going on in respect to technological globalization and how I was unaware of it.  I really enjoyed reading the book because of all the information that I discovered.  I am all for change and growth, but one of the developments as a result of the flattening I do question.  This would be the fact that jobs are being taken from us here at home because labor is cheaper overseas does not sit well with me.  I understand the reasoning behind it, but personally I do not agree with it.  Friedman states in his book that even though the jobs are outsourced, those companies are using products made right here so that, in turn, supports our economy.  I ask, "What happens when those countries begin to develop their own products so they don't have to purchase ours?"  Just a thought.  Automation and outsourcing has taken plenty of jobs away from the low-skilled workers.  Due to this, in education we are being pushed to push all students to reach higher standards.  All students are not the same.  There are students that may never reach those standards simply because they do not possess the intellectual ability to perform.  We need to teach our students to think and not just give back memorized facts.  The world needs creative minds for new ideas.

The flat world has already affected us in the ways I mentioned.  As an educational leader one must prepare their students to function successfully in this flat world.  We need to teach them to think creatively.  If they possess these skills, their job cannot be duplicated by a computer and therefore not outsourced.  Sometimes as an educator I feel like the "child left behind", in that technology has hit us fast and hard but I missed out on it.  This technology class has opened up my eyes to the opportunities available to us to make our jobs more convenient.  Technology use by students is important but schools and parents need to teach their children basic skills.  One will always have to read, write, and compute on a daily basis.  I feel this has been pushed to the back burner partially because of the influx of technology.  I agree with Friedman that parents need to push their children to be hard workers.  Most students today simply want to just get by.  We need to push them to be creative thinkers.

This book is definitely high on my list of books to recommend to others to read.  I was a bit overwhelmed by what I have missed out on and this book really taught me plenty.

Photo Story Video

I chose to make a brief Photo Story from some pictures that I had from a recent trip.  I found this experience to be extremely simple with Photo Story 3.  The hardest part was finding music long enough to last throughout the whole video.  The next time I make one I will make one that tells a particular story from beginning to end.  I will most likely make this for my students at school.  I am happy with my video and I can see the possibilities of using this program for instructional videos.

Tech Tools

As I was perusing the tech tools available out there I came across the one that I would most definitely use.  This was called CafePress.  Since we are constantly raising funds at our school to upgrade our technology, this would be a wonderful site to visit and use.  The possibilities are endless!  You can order products already designed or design one for yourself.  I really like this option of making your own design.  You can purchase them in batches and they are not very expensive.  I think not only of selling these items for a profit for the school, but also ordering small items and personalizing them to use as rewards to the students throughout the year. This could possibly improve lack of motivation and negative behaviors. We could even have a design contest and use the top student's design on our items. 

I was impressed with this website and would definitely use it for my students and would recommend it to my administration also.

There were so many tech tools that were interesting to me but this is the one that I would use.

Skype Conference Call

I have been introduced to a great new technology tool.  I truly enjoyed using this to conduct a conference call with two of my classmates, Leanne and Marcia.  We discussed the first three chapters of "The World is Flat" and here are my results of the conference.

The thing that we agreed was most relevant was outsourcing.  Some jobs are actually outsourced here in the U.S. yet so many were overseas.  What kind of impact does this place on American jobs though?  We were surprised to see how many businesses or companies were outsourced overseas.  The United States will need to step it up to be able to continue to compete with these companies.  We felt that knocking down the Berlin Wall was like breaking a dam.  This allowed much of the flattening to begin and gave companies and individuals the opportunities to expand and compete in a global world.

Something we agreed upon was the fact that even though computer skills and technology is important for our students to learn, it is vital that they possess basic math, reading, and writing skills to compete in the world.  Every day technology has caused us to be lazy.  It certainly has increased communication via text, cell, skype, etc.

The anecdotal story that Marcia shared with us was one about a farmer at the Tennessee Valley Fair.  Here he was a farmer standing there talking on a cell phone while surrounded by his cows.  That spoke volumes about globalization.

This assignment was very beneficial to me.  Skype would be very useful for students working on a group project when distance is a problem.  I enjoyed holding this discussion with my classmates and getting their viewpoints on the subjects in the first section.

ISTE

As I was reading through the essential conditions of the standards I thought about how they were being met in my school.  As technology becomes more common in education, there is a great need to teach our students utilizing more digital instruction.

At my school we all share the vision of increasing the use of educational technology.  As we become more aware of how this technology can be used in the instruction of our students, we participate in consistent fund raising to try to meet our needs.  This is mainly for equipment and staff development.  Given the size of our school, approximately 700+ students in grades 3-5, there are obstacles we face in trying to meet our goals.  Our building is extremely old and it is difficult to keep up with the electrical demands that computers and technological equipment put on the system.  We currently have 9 Promethean boards and 3 Mimeo boards for 30 classrooms.  The goal  is for every class to  have a Promethean board.

We do have a computer lab but currently do not have a technology teacher.  This is due to funding and we hope that as the economy improves that one day we might secure this position.  For now, as teachers need help, other teachers just step in and help out.  Some of us are more tech savvy than others and are happy to help when there is a problem.  Our school's website is currently being updated so that we can be more involved with parents and the community online.

We have focused on improving technology in our building for several years and have made great strides.  Though we are meeting most of the standards, some issues will need to be resolved so that we are able to meet all of the ISTE standards. 

Well they say the third times the charm.  I left out the blogs that interest me so here they are.

http://www.theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com and http://www.freetech4teachers.com

The first one is more informative allowing you to respond to issues.  The second one is very helpful to me.  It is an alternative to YouTube since some teachers are not allowed to bring up that site in school.  There is a plethora of information and links to use with your students.  I am continually seeking ways to help my teachers help my students individually in their classrooms.  This site allows me to do that.

Who I Am

Okay I am slowly catching on here. My name is Geri Scalf and I am just beginning the ELPA Doctorate program at ETSU.  I have been teaching Special Education for the past 16 years and continue to love what I do.  My own two children are now young adults pursuing their own dreams.  My husband and I enjoy traveling the good ole USA with our camper with kayaks and bikes in tow.  I am very curious to find out more about podcasting in this class.  I would like to use it in my classes at school.  I always felt pretty tech savvy but there is already quite a bit in this class that is new to me.  Looking forward to learning all that I can.