inspiring

Wow... I'm taken aback. At first, the video started and after about 30 secs or so I was like, "Man, I could draw thought bubbles... I can outline the good old fashioned way... with a pen and paper." Insert thought into mouth. Wow this program is amazing. Forget about the classroom, I am really considering getting this program to help me organize the dozen or so lab reports I'm going to have to write this semester.

I really find myself thinking, " Man you sound like an old fart;" but I'm only 24. I really think that there are some things that technology is great for, and that there are some things that you have to master first, before you can move on to the fancy programs. You take driving for example; it is best to learn how to drive manual and then if you choose, buy an automatic. In many instances, technology is going to shoot us in the foot. I was in the last generation without technology in the classroom, and even I have felt the devastating effects it can have. If you have read anything I have ever written, it doesn't take you long to figure out that my grammar is terrible. If you have ever been so unfortunate as to review one of my drafts, you know that I can not spell worth dirt. I didn't have technology in the class growing up, but I did have a computer at home I was able to type on. Ruined my need to know how to spell, unless you mean 'there' instead of 'their'.

Now, Alex Donaghy had a great point as far as peer review goes. If in the event that you don't have friends or family, this SWoRD website he mentioned sounds fantastic. Apparently it is a website where you can go to have your draft reviewed and get some feedback. Great.. but call me an old man when I just think that this would be better done by someone you know. If you have access to a computer and the Internet, can't you email your dad at work or your friend who went to another university?

Now... for another foot into mouth situation. Upon further thought, I feel that peer review via blog.. would be a great use for them. It could be a way to have multiple peer reviews without taking up class time. (When I was in school it was usually done in class) It could be given as a homework assignment.. although I'm not too sure how it can be enforced... maybe a non-mandatory peer review type of deal?

I have always been of the thought that if you can teach someone something... you pretty much have mastered it. Most of the time this is true, but it really goes back to who you are teaching. If you are teaching to unmotivated, uneducated individuals, they really are not going to push you as a teacher. I had no idea that this random thought I had would come in handy, but I wrote it down (via blog). In closing read my last blog.