Skype

When first using Skype, I couldn't really figure out the phone call/video cost situation. I looked on the website for information and it didn't say anything about video chat or IM being free. I heard of people using it all the time with no cost so I knew it wouldn't charge, but it was surprising to me that this information was not on the website. A strength that Skype had was that it was very easy to search for people. If you know the name or username, all you have to do is type it into the search box and it will pull up all the possible people. A weakness of Skype would definitely be loss of connection. While Skyping with Roxana, we lost connection about 3 times. Not only the loss of connection was a weakness, but the video chat was also delayed. The video of her would freeze for a few seconds but I could hear her voice. Sometimes, even her voice would be cutting in and out. It was fairly easy to figure out, although I still had some confusion about the phone call charges. Roxana and I were discussing this and concluded that the charges must only be for when you actually call someone's phone number and there is no charge for video messaging/IM. I think that students could use Skype if they were learning about another classroom across the country or even another part of the world. As long as both schools have internet access with a webcam/mic, they should be able to download Skype and video chat with other students. They could have a list of questions they both wanted to ask each other to learn about this part of the world and even the other's personalities by seeing them face to face.

Roxana and I texted each other to get our usernames. We found each other and attempted to start the video chat. At first, I could just hear her voice and figured out that I have to click the video icon. We didn't need much assistance in working with Skype. We just talked with each other about it and played with the different buttons. Something I found interesting is that when we were video chatting and IMing at the same time, she was telling me that there were games on her IM screen. My screen didn't have games. She then explained that Skype was built into her computer when she got it and all she had to do was set it up. I have a Mac, so I had to download it from the website. The application that is similar to Skype for Macs is called iChat. I think iChat is 10 times easier to use and figure out. There are two options on iChat: you can either video chat or IM a friend. The difference with Skype is that it has the option to make a phone call (but it will cost). Since this was our first time using Skype, we did not know any other usernames so we could only chat with each other. Roxana said she found out that you can have up to 24 people at once chatting. I couldn't find that out on mine, probably because her computer already had Skype and mine had to be a download version. We were discussing the fact of 24 people chatting and couldn't decide if that would be a good idea or not, especially with the frequent loss of connection that happens. People would be trying to talk at the same time and because of the delay, probably wouldn't realize that they were talking over someone else.

I think that students should collaborate as much as possible. Collaboration is essential to help students with social skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. A situation where I could see them not needing to collaborate (but could) is independent reading time. Obviously if it's independent reading, students will be reading a book of their choice alone and analyzing the material for themselves. After they're done reading, they could possibly discuss in groups with peers what is happening in their specific book, or they could write a personal reflection that would not require collaboration. When using Skype, it is hard not to call it collaboration when that's exactly what it is! You are talking to another person in some way, whether it be IMing or video chatting.

Open-Source Software

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-131923.html

http://www.techlearning.com/article/13976

These are articles that talk about the South Korean government. They want to switch over to open-source software. This was supposed to happen in 2007 but these articles were published before this time so I'm not sure if they ended up switching or not. The South Koreans want to switch to programs like Linux and have the Mozilla web browser. There was some controversy over the issue of switching because although it might be cheaper at first (saving about $300 million dollars/year), it would cost more in the long run for "maintenance and management costs". It sounds like there would be a lot to accomplish in organizing this switch. Major agencies in South Korea, like the banks and government, only support Windows and Internet Explorer (as of 2006).

The second article says that there are 3 reasons for the switch: "(a) open source software is free of licensing expenses, (b) it tends to have fewer security flaws, and (c) as its components are free of restrictive licensing, the code may be inspected and modified by anyone, opening the possibility for local development and support." South Korea is on its way to show the world how open-source software will be beneficial for education. It is a very competitive world with technology and education. It would be interesting to know how well or not well creating an open-source software for everyone would work out.

Who am I as an Educator?

My educational philosophy seems to change every year (in a good way). I can take my beliefs as a freshman and add onto them as I learn more and more about educating young children. Above all, I think that teachers should be passionate about teaching the children of our future. Teachers should know that students can definitely tell when a teacher is passionate about his or her job. I feel that this passion and drive will rub off on students and hopefully help them to want to learn more about what they themselves are passionate about. Inquiry-based learning is also an important aspect of any classroom from kindergarten all the way to twelfth grade (and beyond!). Students should have the chance to ask questions, collaborate, and reflect on their thoughts. I believe that talking about and asking questions about any subject will further a student's education. I'm not saying that direct instruction is totally out of the picture, but I definitely think that inquiry-based learning will help students in their futures. They will become confident and unafraid to answer questions, and ready to really think about and analyze what others are saying.

The role of technology in the classroom should continue to become a priority to teachers. Kids are exposed to lots and lots of technology in their everyday lives and I feel that teachers should use this as an advantage. Finding ways to use technology to teach will not only be rewarding, but also interesting and fun. I think there are two problems with the using of technology in the classroom: teachers and funding. Some teachers want nothing to do with using technology when they teach. Some don't understand how much of a learning opportunity it is. Funding for technology is also a problem. It would be ideal to have a class set of computers (like a laptop cart) or other technology such as iPods but more often then not, schools can't afford it. This might also be the challenge and important issue as an educator. If there isn't any technology resources available to you as a teacher, it will obviously make it a little more difficult to teach using technology. School districts need to realize how important and useful teaching with technology can be, therefore they should want to fund the resources.