C4T Post #1 & #2

I was assigned “The Electric Educator,” for my C4T#1 and C4T#2.  The writer of this blog is John Sowash.  John is a strong believer in teaching with technology and using it in the classroom.  John, “inspires educators to use technology to foster creative opportunities and to connect with others.” He does an exceptional job of sharing new technology information for the benefit of schools and teachers.  

The first post I commented on was, “#FETC 2015 Recap.”  In this post, John talks about attending the Future of Educational Technology Conference(FETC) in Orlando Florida.  He explains his biggest take aways from the conference which included, increase in maker movement such as 3-D printers.  Sowash then shares some new tech products that could be incorporated into the classroom.  One new product is the Swivl.  This is pretty much a small robot that follows you around while videoing and recording audio.  He then explains how this could be useful for flipping the classroom.  

Here is my comment on “#FETC 2015 Recap” :

Mr. Sowash, 

My name is Erika Owen and I’m a student studying elementary education at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading this post. I am currently in EDM310, which is a micro computing systems course. It has helped open my eyes on how technology has evolved and is being used in the classroom today. It must have been a great experience to attend the FETC. I love the idea of bringing in 3D printers for learning purposes! I agree, that could be useful for teaching science. It could also be used for an art classroom as well. I just recently became familiar with “flipping the classroom,” and I would be interested in trying it out with using the Swivl. Plus the fact that it moves like a robot makes it even more fun. Thanks for sharing!

-Erika Owen

For my C4T# 2, I commented on John Sowash’s  post, “Big Screen vs. Small Screens.”  In this post, he is mainly talking about how companies from EdTech want him to feature their products on his blog for money.  He denies the offers, but then goes on to discus the debate of large screened display devices over small screens.  InFocus wanted John to write a post about one of their new products, JTouch.  This is a 65” touchscreen display device for classrooms, costing $1,999 for schools.  John then asks the company, “Why should educators invest in a teacher-focused device rather than putting technology into the hands of students? “ 

Here is my comment for“Big Screen vs. Small Screens:

I would like to start off and say that I think its so great that you decided not accept paid content insertions for promoting products. I also liked how you fired back questions to InFocus. I believe both products with big and small screens could be beneficial in a classroom. Yes, one large screen might be easier and ideal for some educators, but it's not the only way to get students engaged and learning with technology. Great read! Thank you