Here is a screen shot of my organizing your online life document. I found Pinterest to be really innovative and valuable as a future educator. I plan to use it in my history classroom this fall while student teaching to show various primary sources like pictures and paintings to my students. If you would like to refer back to my Pinterest blog it was published on July 17th, 2013.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Reading off of paper or an electronic screen?
I
really enjoyed this week's class and readings for EDUC 504. I enjoyed reading the article "The
Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus
Screens." I myself have always
preferred doing my academic reading on paper, just because I feel more
comfortable annotating and having it physically in my hands. For some reason, I find it easier to flip
through the pages and conceptualize when I have a hard copy in front of
me. This is particularly weird because I
enjoy reading just about anything else (news, sports) on my Ipad or computer. When I really need to concentrate on an
academic reading I prefer to have it tangibly in front of me so I can sift
through the pages, as opposed to doing it all on a computer screen where I have
a hard time conceptualizing flipping through pages. It should be noted that I grew up without a
computer in my house till early middle school so I feel that this has something
to do with my preference of reading on paper.
Furthermore, it is difficult for me to navigate electronic sources with
the same ease as a tactile book or newspaper; I don't know maybe I am just old
fashion. I will say that over the last
month in a half in the MAC program I have grown way more accustomed to reading
electronic PDF's on the computer, as opposed to printing them all out. My Ipad allows me to write on the PDF's and
highlight whatever information I find important. This has helped me not only save many trees, but also keep all my readings
centralized in one easily accessible location.
I will say that after looking at my computer screen all day it is nice
to read a paper article and switch it up.
The
article brings up a fascinating study that was done in 1982, and concluded that
people read slower, less accurately and less comprehensively on screens than on
paper. Moreover, further studies have
concluded that most people still prefer reading on paper, especially when
reading intensively. This trend could be
moving though with the introduction of countless new E-readers and tablets. I for one can attest to this change, having
got an Ipad a few years ago and an E-reader app that I put on it. I love how I can buy the kindle editions of
books with one click of the mouse and have the electronic edition of the book
in my hands within 30 seconds. I
wouldn't be surprised that if in the next decade physical books and newspapers
become virtually replaced by electronic versions. This idea being furthered by the growing
ecological and environmental issues present in our world. Additionally, the article discussed a study
that found that students who read on paper absorb the material more quickly and
thoroughly. All in all, I feel that the
preference of reading on a digital screen or book is still just that, personal
preference.
Friday, August 2, 2013
ED-U-BLOG!
For
today's blog I decided to write about the education blog entitled
"Speaking of History..." by Eric Langhorst. More specifically, I would like to talk about
his blog post from this Monday "Connecting the story. In this blog, Langhorst discusses a workshop
he attended in Washington D.C. conducted by Model Classroom and the Pearson
Foundation. He discusses the workshop as
being an emotional experience and very thought provoking. During the workshop he had the opportunity to
attend the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which he discusses as being an emotional
experience. I have actually had the
opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and see this same beautiful memorial
and felt the same way. In fact, one of my
close family friends actually had a brother who was killed during the Vietnam conflict
and his name is immortalized on the wall.
My family and I all took a piece of paper and a black stencil and went
over his name so that we could forever have it to treasure and honor. I couldn't believe all the names on the wall,
over 58,000 men and women died during the conflict that lasted well over a
decade. As a big history buff I found the trip to
Washington D.C. with my family to be incredible. Moreover, as a future history
teacher I plan to talk at great lengths about the Vietnam Conflict and the
Memorial in Washington D.C..
Switching directions a little bit, Langhorst
also visited the Holocaust Museum during his Washington D.C. workshop. I also had the opportunity to visit this museum
with my family and found it to be just as emotionally captivating and moving as
the Vietnam Memorial. Ever since I was a
young student I have always held a deep intellectual curiosity for WWII and the
Holocaust. It's so incredible to think
that something as terrible and deplorable as the Holocaust actually happened,
let alone in the 20th century. Moving
throughout the museum you could feel the intense emotion of what it must of
been like to live and die in a Nazi concentration camp. The inside of the museum is decorated and
designed to look just like a concentration camp and only enhances the emotions
and feelings experienced by the viewers.
I really hope that sometime during my teaching career I will be able to
lead a field trip or study trip to the Holocaust museum and Washington D.C. in
general. Furthermore, I feel that my
trip to Washington D.C., just like Langhorst's, will really benefit me as a
future history educator.
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