Visit from Neil Stephenson

"Inquiry is how you think about the topics that you teach." 
                                                             -Neil Stephenson
I was really impressed with Neil as a speaker and the information he provided for the class. I was really interested in the Calgary Science School as a school and their modus operandi. I loved how they decided against expanding into two schools or a high school because they wanted to maintain their small status and focus on  perfecting their teaching skills to help others. I was not surprised that there are 3/4 more boy's at the school than girl's, but I was disappointed. 
 I really agreed with what he had to say about the inquiry procedure. I really liked how Neil made a point to discuss the fact that many teachers think that just having the technology in their classroom will help. I love that it is not about the technology; it is about the thought that goes behind the task that the teacher decides how to use the tools and why. He also reiterated the fact that teachers have to balance the fine line between  teacher centered classrooms and student centered classrooms. I just loved this class there was so much information to think about. 

Kate's and D'Arcy's Presentations

I have used Prezi before in a presentation but I did not know about Google docs. I'm not sure if this would help me out at all because it sounds like it is just the same as the windows programs. Though everyone would like to say that they don't support a multi- billion dollar monopoly, why fix what isnt broken? I understand that you can work on the projects from anywhere but in my first year i will be at the school till late hours  and probably working on my own laptop. The second presentation was more to do with what is possible with  a little technology. I think the idea is great for secondary students but not elementary. It would be very unlikely that all the students would have access to Iphones. It brings into question of whether a teacher would even want to bring Iphones into the classroom for independant movies. I know that my students from my last practicum would not have been able to handle it and they were a very well behaved and focused group. I was hoping that in these presentations we would go over how to use this software and little backdoor codes or cheats we could use to make things easier. 

Technology and Me

I have always been comfortable with technology. In my practicum I used the smart board for attendance and for Math and Literacy questions and assignments.The Smart board was pretty much always on and I thought that it did benefit the students to have daily interaction with this particular technology. I think that students need to be very literate in these different tools because they will be used as stepping stones for other systems that haven't been invented yet;just like when I was younger and used the Macintosh computers to play the Recycling game or practiced typing. Having said that, there are aspects of technology that I do not like. I feel that the way we use technology is very irresponsible. We have made our society more reliant on the unknown and the fast-food model of consumption. The idea of "I want it , and I want it NOW!" is just being reinforced so that potential consequences have no time to be reflected upon. Another concern for me is that though people are using technology, not many of them understand how and why it works. Who can actually build a computer from scratch? I know I cant and I have taken Computer tech. courses. Is this the right way to deal with a potentially powerful societal tool?