The iPhone, a learning tool. Yes LEARNING March 30, 2008
Posted by Abdullah Al-Shackarchi in Academic, Apple, Converting to 21st Century, Technology.Tags: iPhone, iPhone in school
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The iPhone, it is the first cellphone created by Apple Inc. It includes many new features such as multi touch technology. If you still in the last millennium and you have no idea what I am talking about (fool), please go here (to the best site in the world): www.apple.com/iphone/ .
As you well know, our school is filled with iPhones. I more than 25% of all phones are iPhones. Which is really great (since we are a MAC school). But do the teachers care? They don’t (We know a certain French teacher has one). But what if the iPhone, could be used squeeze someones hand for this part as an educational tool.
This may hurt, but due to its iPod and web capabilities the iPhone could be a student’s perfect tool. Teachors can upload lessons/seminars somewhere (A Miss Lindsay wiki perhaps) as an audiobook and students will get it and have it with them. Podcasts also work. And you can get whole textbooks woth excellent viewing capabilities. And some of that stuff is capable with iPods. So what is so good about this?
- Everyone has iPsomething
- Students take these things with them wherever they go, so they do not need to carry suitcases of books.
And due to my nerdiness I must admit, use my 5G (Please buy me a new one) iPod for this very purpose.
And on that note. Please do buy me an iPhone.
BUY ME AN iPHONE. I love you Steve
Read the world! March 26, 2008
Posted by Abdullah Al-Shackarchi in Converting to 21st Century, Technology.Tags: Mrs. Lindsay, RSS, unrelated
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Mrs. Lindsay had been trying to teach students about RSS. aka Real Simple Syndication. Basically with this stuff you can read twenty million blogs (starting with QANEWS of course) together. Which is really good. So you can follow what is coming up with the world. This is basically the future of journalism. So here are three easy steps to start doing RSS:
1. Get a feed reader! I recommend Google Reader. You need Gmail/Google Accounts (If you have a blog on blogger (like with Mrs. Lindsay) then you can use these initials) for this. Just log in. Nothing will be there, that is why of course you need step number 2 
2. Add Blogs ‘subscriptions’: Search online for blogs. Just go to google blog search and search for the stuff you like. Or an easy way out, add this link: http://www.google.com/reader/atom/user/02611791527533269402/state/com.google/reading-list . This is my reading list, it has all the stuff that I read (updated). But be warned, this has around 200 articles daily so you might want to free some time. When you want to read just login and click on all items and you are good to GO!
3. Come back daily (or more) and read anything new. You have officially read the world!
If you need anything else just write it in the comments and I will reply ASAP
old school > NEW SCHOOL. Are our teachers too ‘old school’? Is our school too ‘old school’? March 17, 2008
Posted by Abdullah Al-Shackarchi in Converting to 21st Century, Schoolwork, Student Life, Technology.Tags: complaint, hardware, IT, Mac, new century, problem, school, software
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We have many teachers. Really, we have a lot of teachers. But the question remains, are we good enough? Are our teachers prepared enough to face what this century requires? I say yes. Most of our teachers have vast understanding of how to incorporate what is really technology, they use all possible means to convert whatever they can into a technologically advanced masterpiece. So in essence, we have the right level of educators; and for that matter students. We have adequate resources when it comes to hardware (I used adequate cause most of our hardware is loaded with Windows. I say Mac). But the true problem comes in software. Now the problem is divided into two halves:
- We are not buying enough stuff (I will talk about this later). We need more software, and at least we need to update the software we have. We have Flash, great. But we have flash MX 2004, which is old OLD.
- We are not being taught how to use the stuff we have. We have Premiere, we have Photoshop! We have.. We have.. GREAT! But students are not being taught. Now I may know how to use Premiere, but most people don’t. I am not talking about IB grads. I am talking about younger students, why dosen’t a sixth grader get the right to make a picture perfect movie (
without iMovie)? Many sixth graders are capable of doing that better than some IB’s, why not give them the chance? It is not the IT department’s fault (we get too little lessons for anything). Who’s fault is is?
So you give us great set ups, now teach us how to use them??!
