Let me reiterate, I am just scared of technology and usually don’t depend on it unless I have to check my email or if I just want to browse the internet. With this project, I made a bunch of power point slides and then I used Photo story 3 to mold everything together and make my video. My computer was acting up a few times and I thought my information was going to be lost but everything turned out fine. I put in a lot of man hours in-between the time I had available to do this project and I had a bunch of papers and tests in other classes but I did my best to navigate past those obstacles. This was my first attempt at making a video all by myself trying to teach something useful for students while also making it mission-oriented with an assignment at the end for my students to complete. I’m sure with the more opportunities I have in the future to really dive in and get my hands wet with technology, as far as making narrated assignments in the shape of movies are concerned, I will do a good job at teaching a grammatical term. In the future with any other project like this that I might come across, I know I will be able to construct a more pleasing project to the eye for my peers as well as my students. I’m still a novice for now and in time I hope I will be able to change that label into something better.    

Here is my digital project.

Check out this Youtube video on some cliche metaphors.

Check out this Youtube video on Podcasting in Plain English.

One of the great things that I got out from reading chapter 6 of Richardson is that the social web is a continuing growing and learning process. Everyone that is willing to contribute and share knowledge helps out the next person in line. And this falls great into place when educators and students are involved. The internet is already an everyday flow of conversation and information, and social bookmarking is one of many useful tools to get things going on the right foot. Two social bookmarking sites that the author uses and cites within the chapter are Diigo and del.icio.us. These two sites really help develop an organized and explorative source of information for teachers to pass along to their students. I mean, when exploring the internet on a daily basis, for pleasure or research purposes, there are always great links that just need to be saved for future reference and social bookmarking, is one of the great tools to help with that.

Social bookmarking is a great way to involve students to getting to know how to use technology that will not only be insightful within the classroom, but for their own personal use outside the classroom. The only negative that can come from this is not using this process to get better acclimated with social bookmarking. The more that teachers as well as students continue to play and get a good feel with everything, the more that they will not only help others but also themselves immensely. Personally, I never even knew about social bookmarking until reading this chapter and now that I know, I have to make a conscience effort to create accounts at these sites and really know my stuff so I don’t come off as a nincompoop to my students. Whatever I’m able to bring to the classroom can only be a benefit to my students and I will try my best too incorporate social bookmarking, to some degree.

I am not a big fan of Twitter, but its 140 characters are quickly making its way into the classroom. In California, students are already tweeting their way to better grades, and that is just the beginning of some of the uses that allow teachers and students to get assignments covered. But with all the positive things that can come out from social networking, there are still many mixed opinions on the subject, which is too be expected. The internet is not always the safest place for kids with predators always on the prowl, and there are cases where a few teachers and students develop intimate relationships, which are always ground for concern, but I digress. Social networking is the new wave of the future, and even though there are a few bad seeds out there, that will not hinder me from using this source in my own classroom with no ramifications on my part because quite frankly, I know how to be professional and put business way ahead of any other matter.

There is a good reason why Suzanne Collins called this book The Hunger Games because the second you pick it up and get done reading it, you will be starving for some more. I have to say that I am hooked right now just like Peeta is for Katniss. Right from the start of this book, the narrator is able to portray the power that the Capitol yields and how the other twelve districts are at their command. For goodness sake, there were thirteen districts but because District 13 rebelled, all the other districts had to undergo the formation of the Hunger Games and send one boy and girl from their represented districts, where out of the twenty-four competitors, only one would come out alive and the victor. The protagonist of the story, Katniss, provides a great perspective and undergoes a transformation from the start of the book from being the family provider/hunter for her mother and younger sister to a woman understanding her beauty, who is returning as the seventy-fourth Hunger Games and first co-champion with Peeta to District 12. I have to say that I love the way that the author was able to construct the book so that each chapter ended in such a climactic way, that you just have to keep on turning the pages to find out what happens next.

Katniss Everdeen was just a great protagonist and it was exciting to see how she was able to use her Robin Hood-like bow and arrow skills and her hunting capabilities, to perceiver. She is the definition of what a big sister should be to a younger sibling when they called out young Prim’s name at the reaping and Katniss volunteered to take her place without hesitation, when others could not and would not muster up the courage to take a twelve year olds place. Another element that showed progression throughout the story was the make believe friendship/bond that Katniss and Peeta have for one another. With the help of their mentor and only previous winner of the Hunger Games from District 12, Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta are able to keep the rouse going as two lovers to the point that there is a rule change and two people from the same district can come out as champions of the games but Peeta has been in love with Katniss since he was five.  I love reading a book that has so much action and mystery entangled so creatively, and that is exactly what this book by Suzanne Collins does. Reading is something that should be fun and I can’t wait when I have the time to read the next two books in this trilogy to feed my hunger, and find out what decision Katniss makes regarding Peeta and her best friend, Gale.

Being a lifelong learner starts with being acclimated with some of the most important books and documents that have a large effect on one’s learning. From Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, to The Declaration of Independence, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to name a few, all these material make a significant impact in America’s culture and influence teaching and learning. Understanding the history of where we reside as well as the Bill of Rights that are provided to every citizen is also quite important. Now more than ever, diversity is taking place within the United States and more questions are arising. However, the future of education, technology, and the countless arguments that have been taking place for so many years are moving along in the right direction and America continues to provide the best opportunities for its occupants.

Talk about your daily scares of terrorism, terrorists, and the lack of constitutional rights. The book, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, brings everything to a whole new vantage point for just that purpose from the young seventeen year old adult named Marcus a.k.a w1n5tOn and later better known as M1k3y. Something that stood out like a sore thumb throughout the whole book was technology. I have never been well versed in that language, but there are great details throughout the twenty-one chapters of this book to help give some insight on a few things. There are a few questions that probe my mind after reading the book, but the one I think about the most is simply, how many security measures does Big Brother (the government) need? All it took was the bombing of Bay Bridge and the lives of Marcus Yallow and his friends were forever changed. It’s one thing to be scared of terrorists, but it’s a completely different story to be scared of your own government and their tactics when dealing with terrorism.

High school is an adventure in itself, and being watched constantly by cameras that have feet recognition, for example, is not cool. Marcus was a senior that knew how to get around all the security measures that were installed to tie all the students down, and throughout his journey within the book, he could not let himself succumb to fear from the tactics of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after being held prisoner, he wanted justice. He used the technology that was right under his nose and being paranoid helped him, while also having friends to trust in his inner ring is what got him to prevail over Big Brother. I mean, who doesn’t like to read a book and the protagonist not only goes through a life altering experience, but they find their true love and for the most part, have a happy ending. Reading this book made me think of the movie Braveheart and Mel Gibson shouting from the top of his lungs one word as William Wallace and that word is, freedom. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is a great book for the more mature young adult to read that is looking to put their video games on hold and also any live action role playing to escape to their own Treasure Island and have some fun reading for a change.