Learning blog #3

This blog is about what I learned about multimedia and hypermedia as a teaching and learning tool. Multimedia is any combination of audio, video, text, etc, and can promote flexibility in learning while stimulating other interests. Hypermedia is a program that contains media that are connected by links that allow a person to navigate through the lesson in their own way. This also can promote proactive learning and help learners choose their own way of learning. I found that there are also limitations in using this form of teaching. Sometimes there are not enough funds to get the technologies necessary, the lack of training necessary for the programs, along with the fact that a typical school day does not have enough time to start big hypermedia projects.
I think that using these particular programs and lectures filled with multimedia are great for students. I feel as though if I were teaching I would also need something other than a textbook and the sound of my own voice. I am pretty sure the students would enjoy a video or gag reel about a subject they are learning. It is fun to get creative as a teacher with the learning styles used and these materials allow for more flexibility in that.
http://home.iag.net/~ksking/mmedia.html
I chose this link because it is a helping tool with plenty of links for teachers. This website can help teachers integrate hypermedia into their lesson plans and classrooms. This website gives links from PBS, BBC, and Nick Jr. as some examples. It looks like the perfect place for teachers to see how including media in their lessons will stimulate the interests of the students.

learning blog #1

In class this week, we watched a pretty frightening video on the advancement of technologies within the past few years. It was filled with info that I never knew beforehand. I had no idea that the 25 percent of people in India ith the highest IQs surpass the total population of the United States... it's incredible how advanced they are as a country. It is terrifying to know that 1 in 8 people actually found love over the internet.. creepy stuff, it's like we get the internet to do everything for us. The most controversial thing I found in that video was the fact that a computer is actually being made that can exceed the human brain.. I honestly believe technology is going to take over us all if we don't slow down.

     I am an elementary education major. This video showed me that computers may take over the job I want to have in the future. If a computer is smarter than a human being in a couple of years, why would students even need fellow humans teaching them? It's a scary thought. I am going to have to keep up in the world of technology with this major, so I can be on somewhat of the same level as my students. I want to be able to teach with hands-on activities and eye contact, not the glow of a computer monitor.

This video shows that in some of the more technologically advanced countries, teachers are going to be replaced. I can't believe that human contact is just dissipating into oblivion.