iTunesU Post Four

   

      Universities and colleges are exploring this route of teaching because it is both beneficial to the students and teachers. Teachers are able to post their lessons online and have not only their students but people from across the world watch them. This could lead to future possibilities for the teachers if someone higher up enjoys their teaching method. As well, teachers are able to ensure that students should be caught up with the course since everything they need is online, and there should be no excuses. Money wise, this option decreases the need for textbooks and other 'old school' objects. As long as students have a computer and internet connection, they're good.  This would also help the amount of applicants that apply to the school because they can see if they will even enjoy the course before they apply.

     As well, this opens up the doors to people who are not fortunate enough to attend university. They can go online and watch an entire course done by a university professor. This helps them by expanding their knowledge without having to actually go to the college. This also goes for students who are in a university and have already selected all their courses. They can go online and watch a course from another subject that interests them, which helps their education.

     I believe this method of teaching is great and I so far have enjoyed the classes I have been watching online out of NYU. Being able to watch these classes will benefit me greatly next year as I will already have a vast amount of knowledge on subjects my classmates may not know about. I also hope that the courses I am in next year offer the same online option since it is extremely convenient. I am grateful I know about iTunesU because it will definitely benefit me next year in university.

iTunesU Post Three

     For my online courses I decided to look what courses New York University had. Since that would be my dream school I automatically selected it. As well, I applied to university next year for English and social sciences so it wasn't too hard to find a course I was interested in. NYU however online only offered American literature which is something I am not that interested in. I decided to focus on sociology instead.

First I watched the majority of the Introduction to Sociology which was the first video in this course. The professor Harvey Molotch, keeps the class engaged and interested into what he is speaking about. He does not make the lesson confusing or harder than it has to be, which is something I was predicting what going to happen. This makes me feel a little less stress for next year since people always tell me how much harder university is. Molotch uses clear examples that the students would understand which helps him explain his points.

     Since Molotch kept me engaged with this lecture, I decided to watch another lesson done by him. I searched down the list and found one entitled Conformity and Isolation. This lesson was extremely interesting and taught me much about sociology that I did not before. An interesting study Molotch discusses is the large number of death in child orphanages in the United States. It was proven that the mortality rates were high because the babies were isolated from other human beings. This shows how important human interaction is to human development.

     Watching these videos helped me realize how much I do want to study the social sciences and learn about how human interaction and behaviour. I enjoyed watching these videos and found they were a great to  learn and expand my knowledge.

                                           
                                  what you see while watching the lesson online

iTunesU Post Two

      I believe this type of learning needs to become more common in classrooms today. Since technology is advancing and is a part of our lives today, it only makes sense to incorporate it into education. This type of learning erases the old “teacher speaking in front of the class” format and incorporates individual learning using technology. Since students are constantly on their phones/computers as is, it seems appropriate to put that to good use. Teachers should start to embrace the fact students want use technology and begin to teach them how to gather information with them. As well, personal learning devices would erase the need for textbooks, therefore eliminating the cost for that. iTunesU is a great system that distributes knowledge through technology. People are able to study a whole unit, by a professor, without having to be in the class. Also, there is no fee or tuition, which is another cost reduction.  

               

      I believe this type of learning should be incorporated into classrooms today because it is beneficial to both the students and the teachers. For example, I know at my high school, a teacher used YouTube as a form of teaching. He would post videos at night of lessons and ask the students to watch them and try the examples he would use. The next day in class they would go over the examples without having to teach the lesson in class. This saves time and also the teacher has more time to focus on the students that are having problems with the lesson.

      Therefore I believe integrating technology into the classroom is a necessity and extremely useful. Since our world is already becoming more and more technologically advanced, it makes sense to teach the youth how to use technology in a way that is beneficial to them. The use of technology is unlimited and the knowledge people can gain is extremely underrated. Technology in the classroom needs to start being seen as constructive instead of a negative. 

      

iTunesU Post One

                I think this method of teaching is smart and engaging. If I was learning about the subject this video is teaching in any other form I would be extremely bored. This video however, kept me engaged on a subject I usually am not interested in. I cannot say I’ve watched a full video about red shift before Khan Academy’s video but I now am knowledgeable on it. I think this method of teaching is brilliant because it is different than the normal, traditional teaching techniques. Since today’s students are blessed with advanced technology it is hard to keep them engaged in a classroom. This is because their minds have been stimulated so much outside of the classroom such that watching a teacher talk for hours is dull. This way of teaching will keep students engaged and interested since something on the screen is always happening, versus reading from a textbook for example. I personally would love to be taught in this form since I spend a decent amount of time on the computer anyways.

Since I was intrigued by this video I decided to search Khan Academy’s channel for any more interesting videos.  I found a vast amount of categories ranging from all subjects taught in school. I decided to check out the history section since I’ve taken many history courses throughout high school. I scrolled down until I found a topic that interested me and found a video on communism: 

I really enjoyed watching this video and learned more about communism than I did before. This video kept me interested with the visual and also explained certain things well that were confusing. If I had to read a page in a textbook, it would not teach me half the things this video just did and also would be extremely boring. As well, if I get lost at any point I can always pause or go back. This is beneficial because when a teacher is giving a lesson to the class it is easy to get lost and then you begin to give up on trying to listen to what they are saying. Therefore, I believe this form of teaching is amazing and would keep students interested in subjects that usually they hate. I hope this will soon be introduced into classrooms as I believe it will benefit both the students and teachers. 

Shakespeare Post Four

      From watching all three of the videos from different time periods it is easy to determine why one is so much better than the others. For me personally the film made in 1996, is the better of the three. This would be because it is much more modern and entertaining. I have watched the full movie of the one made in 1996 and enjoyed it which I’m sure I cannot say for the other two movies. The one in 1996 is more sexualized and involves concepts that are too controversial for the other two movies such as the use of drugs and drag queens. The oldest movie made in 1954 keeps this scene very “PG” in comparison to the version made in 1996. This is a reason as to why the newest version is better because the audience is captivated and excited during the scene. 

      As well, in the party scene that we watched for all three of the movies, this is the only one that uses digital audio.  This music gives the scene a much more up-beat and engaging scene versus the other two.  This makes the characters in the 1996 version seem more fun and endearing, which draws the audience into the play.  The language used is the same however they “modernized” it and give enthusiasm to it. By this I mean the older movie versions seem monotone and extremely dull, to say the least. The 1996 version gives excitement, fear and suspense to its viewers. 

    

       As well, the costumes used in the 1996 version are much more bright and colourful, which is very different than the traditional clothing used in the two other movies. This adds flare to the movie and keeps the audience’s attention, especially in the party scene. Therefore, I believe the version made in 1996 is the better of the three due to the fact it is actually entertaining, suspenseful and engaging. 

 Scene from the "better" version

Shakespeare Presentation

Night School English on Prezi

Shakespeare Post Three

        The discussion we had on twitter I thought was a really interesting and new way to conduct an in-class discussion. I have never found Shakespeare enjoyable to read and from this discussion I have found out neither do most students in my class. This is largely due to the fact that teachers in high school are teaching Shakespeare in the wrong way. This is evident in our discussion when we answered the question: Why do students hate studying Shakespeare? My response for this question is because it is confusing and not the easiest to read, which was similar to the responses from my classmates. Teachers expect us to be able to read an entire act of Shakespeare in one class and understand everything he is saying-which is almost impossible! As one of my classmates pointed out, language is evolving everyday, even if we like it or not. I agreed with this statement and had never thought of that being a reason. Teachers must understand that students today have placed a stigma on Shakespeare and the way it is written. We do not understand almost all the things he is saying and trying to read along with the cassette playing in the background of the classroom is horrible.
   
      This relates to the second question we were asked: What is your worst memory of studying a play of Shakespeare? I can relate to almost all the answers given by my classmates as I have had to read Shakespeare in three of the four years I was in high school. I have had to listen to cassettes, read on my own, read aloud with the class and watch movies. Watching movies however was the simplest way to understand the play and I'm glad that is how we are doing it in this class. As well, one of my classmates stated her worst memory of Shakespeare was having to read it aloud to her class which I can relate to. I remember having to stand in front of my class and read part of an act with a group of people. That was one of the worst assignments I was given as I had literally no clue what I was saying. Having this prejudice against Shakespeare is something almost all students have even though we know we are going to have to study it.
   
      Therefore to overcome this barrier I believe students should discuss with their teachers the difficulties they are having with it. I know this helped me greatly one year because I asked my teacher if there was anything else I could read or watch that would help me understand the play we were studying. She suggested buying a "no fear Shakespeare" book which in the end helped me substantially. Therefore Shakespeare only has to be as bad as you make it, there are a vast number of other sources that help students get a better understanding of his plays and make this chore of reading become somewhat enjoyable.