Week 13

I attended the presentations for the IIC competition this afternoon. First of all, I should have watched their videos before I went because many groups just assumed that they were presenting to an audience who had already viewed their projects. So, it's hard to say if my feelings from their presentations were accurate since I'm not exactly sure what some projects were about.
I felt like most of the projects were strong--so I am going to pick my top three (in no particular order) and discuss briefly why I liked each of them.

Group 4:
Mainly I liked this project because this couple put in A LOT of work into their entry. Their website seemed functional, eye-appealing and fresh. I loved how the man said they did not use technology for just bells and whistles--they wanted to make common websites like Facebook and YouTube useful. I also felt like it was a solid base to an entire idea for a classroom. Everything is in one place and the website could be very expansive. I liked this project because it was expansive. It didn't just pick one or two technologies, but many and showed how to harmonize different technologies for a single project. It's a very forward thinking into future teaching in schools. I don't feel like its completely feasible right now, but give in ten years and maybe every classroom will have a website similar to this one.

Group 5:
I liked this idea because the pair implemented the idea in an actual classroom and it worked. A lot of the entries appeared to be too forward thinking to be applied on a global level immediately. It would take a lot of learning, money or technology in the schools to make their ideas work beyond a single classroom. The other thing aspect of this project I thought was strong was its appeal to a global classroom. In my major, we discuss writing in context. Students put more effort into polishing their papers if they feel like someone other than the teacher is going to read them. The beauty of the interet is allowing students' work to be shared with a real life audience--producing a real life context. This is brilliant. It gets kids talking--even kids who don't normally participate. It gets kids thinking, and if teachers can find other teachers across the the country to be their sister classroom for the year--I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for students to see new cultures, ideas and places without leaving their own classroom. Wow, even though they didn't have a PowerPoint--I really liked this idea.

Group 7:
If the bugs can get all worked out--which I trust Apple to fix---iPads are the new computers that will be put into classrooms. Instead of rotating laptop computer labs, there will be rotating iPad labs. However, this will take along time before class sets of iPads are a standard classroom tool like the computer is now. First of all, the first model always has problems--and the first model has not even been officially released!!!! Second, education is getting budget cuts all over the place right now--few school districts will be able to afford iPads. Third, I'm pretty sure kindergartens will be one of the last grades to get iPads. All of this, of course, is just my personal opinion. However, their ideas is wonderful. Sounds, picture, touch and words all in one lesson. It's just plain brilliant. Also, its exciting and interactive. Five-year olds would be all over this idea. And applications for teacher lessons would be all over the internet and easy to find within just a few years of becoming regularly used in classrooms. Teachers could develop their own applications for a personal lesson, or borrow from other teachers. It is just a good idea. Simple as that.