week 8 exit slip

Chapter Presentation:
During the presentation on the book chapter, I benefited from the pro and con discussion. Although I have my own views on these issues, it is always good to hear another's perspective. On some of the issues, I feel somewhere in the middle. For example, I do not think that children should sit in front of a tv to learn all day, but I don't think that educational television is bad or should never be used either. Educational television can be a good way for students to learn, but it cannot replace hands on learning. In terms of distance education, I think hybrid courses are a better choice. I took one hybrid course on developmental psychology and I really liked it. I worked on my assignments at home and then met once a week in a classroom to discuss what we had been learning. I think that homeschooling is a great idea. I like the fact that children who are home schooled only have to spend three hours a day doing school work. I obviously support education, but sometimes it takes up so much of our time. I would have loved to have more time in the day build other talents such as dance. If a child is going to be home schooled, I think it's important to make sure that the child has plenty of social opportunities.
Contemporary Issues discussed in class:
Companies use technology to advertise to children: I'm not sure that I have a strong opinion on this. Companies are always going to advertise. It's up to the parents to monitor their children.
End of the semester exams to replace the FCAT: I think this could be a good idea. Giving students a standardized test will measure whether or not they actually learned the intended curriculum. At the same time, I don't think this score alone should determine whether or not a student graduates or passes the class. I think it should be used more to hold teachers accountable for teaching the intended curriculum. I personally am not very good at taking standardized test. I didn't think I would even get into UF because I did not score very well on the SAT. After being here though, I have proved that I can succeed here at UF regardless my SAT score.
Cochlear implants: Whether or not someone should get a cochlear implant depends on the child's situation. Julia gave an example of a girl who lost her hearing and had it restored through this implant. This is great. But what about children who are born completely deaf? I think it may be more beneficial to teach them sign language from the start and get them involved with other deaf people so that they have a sense of belonging somewhere.
HP touch screen computers to facilitate learning for children with autism: I think I would need to research this tool more before forming an opinion on it.
Students use technology to cheat: People have been cheating for years. Teachers should try and monitor cheating by doing things such as turning papers into turnitin.com, checking calculators, making sure everything is off the student's desk.
Cool Tools discussed in class:
Twiddla: interactive white board; it's free; this could be really good for tutoring or doing homework. Friends can help each other with math homework.
Symbaloo: This is a customized homepage. You can put all of your favorite webpage links on this page. I could see this being more useful for me than delicious because I typically use the same ten or so websites daily. I like being able to see an icon rather than looking a a list of websites.
Go!Animate: This seems difficult, but I can see children really enjoying this. Perhaps it is worth the effort of learning how to use it in order for the students to be able to use it.
TimeRime: This website enables you to create interacive time lines. You can include links to websites, videos, ect. You can print it in a PDF file. There is even an educational version, but it cost money.
Pageflakes: This is also a personalized homepage, but is more text based than symbaloo.