New Term - New Entries

As I turn my eyes from the screen to the window, I see a beautiful dance performed by the tree boughs and wind. I still hear the rain pounding on the window and the din of house sounds from within. Back on the screen, I'm reading blogs, marking attendance in the roster, and sending pictures to the other instructors. Another term has started.

This marks a time to post blog entries for the ED-Four-Twenty-One team starting with the first three: an introduction of myself, comments on the Eight Guidelines for Media Literacy and my thoughts about the first class. While students will do this in three entries, I will do it briefly in one.

I've always enjoyed the outdoors not for any particular activity, just being in it. This probably evolved from growing up as a farm boy in North Dakota, a homesteader/farmer in Alaska living close to nature and now manifested by living on a hillside in Oregon. So where do computers fit in this picture?

In class Thursday I said out loud for the first time a question that gnawing at me these days. Technology as related to computers and the Internet has become so extensive and convoluted that I no longer can keep up with all the information. This is exemplified in class by viewing all the options available from just one portal at go2web20.net. Many of these options are available as tools for teaching and there are tags and categories and search capabilities. I'll be back here looking for tools for my future classes.

And thirdly, a brief comment of the Media Literacy article. Being very brief, superficial, only as a model, I am excited to hear that even with this new technology reading and writing remain very critical in media literacy. It's also exciting to know that the definition of media literacy goes far beyond words.

Another look around the room as a gust of wind resonated around the house, I hoping that all fifteen students will come out at the end of this class with greater skills, a better understanding of the use of technology and the wisdom to use it properly. Oh yes, and have fun doing it.