special assignment 2

Part 1
The Khan Academy is a "free world-class education for anyone anywhere". One day he was teaching cousin and thought that it would be more useful and time consuming if he could put his lecture on the internet for others to see and his cousin to view on his own time. So he did and the number of views of his lectures starting growing. He created the Kahn Academy, after himself and now creates videos on certain topics and posts them for others to see for free.
iTunesU is similar to YouTube and also the Khan Academy. On iTunesU you can upload your own videos and lectures for others to see such as; teachers, students, faculty of schools, and anyone interested in it. For viewing purposes you can upload or import the videos to your iPod, iPad, MacBooks etc, and also your iPhone.
TED was started as technology, entertainment and design being brought together as one. TED main focus is " Ideas Worth Spreading." TED also has a wide variety of topics to chose from since their is to change the lives of others.
Part 2
TED seems as if it would brighten up a lecture. With the many different options and genres of videos on the website it makes each lecture seem a bit more interesting as if the teacher were teaching it because it is someone different. Another positive thing about TED is that the material may be more up-to-date with the time and have correct facts and entertain and even teach you the teacher something new.
With Kahn Academy, the first thing that comes to mind is parents being involved while the students are at home doing their homework. With this the parents can watch and help their children to understand and comprehend the concept that is being taught in the video. Also with Kahn Academy, the lessons are stacked on to one another so once a lesson is learned and the concept is grasped the student can move on to the next. Great building blocks where the material is not all thrown in your face at one big time.
On iTunesU any of the schools and resources on the list can be viewed or heard as far as the lectures go. Along with the other two, they all share the same concept of sharing lectures and educating students online. With any of the three they may also be used for those who have missed class, or who did not understand the lesson the first time, they can go back and watch or listen as many times as needed until they find the point the lecture is trying to get across.
Part 3
For TED, I watched as Michelle Obama went to the United Kingdom to share her plea for education. I could have watched a school lesson, but was more interested to see what she had to say about education. Michelle Obama Plea on Education. In this video Mrs. Obama is talking to an all girls school about how they need to start taking school more seriously because they are the new future and that they are the age that is going to change the education gap in what it was and what it should be. Michelle thinks that women help make a difference in the education department and most everything such as family, and jobs.
Age Word Problem by Mr. Kahn is the video I chose to watch from Kahn Academy. I chose this problem because these problems to me seem more than Algebra, but also a great brain runner. While watching this video, I had to actually get a piece of paper and a pen to do the work myself. These problems would be great brain warm ups or a quiz at beginning of class for students to keep as bonus points for when they please. I think that when students have to use their brains with problems such as these that it actually gets their brains started and thinking.
On iTunesU, I chose to watch "Digital Art." It was a project that the children got to chose their own pictures, add a little spunk to them, and make them into CD covers, TShirts, and other items that pictures can be screened or drawn onto. The idea behind this video was for the students to use their creativity while coming up with something that they enjoyed and thought looked great but still be able to use the different art tools and technology used today.
Part 4 and 5
For iTunesU, it seemed a bit complex for me to navigate through, but that is because I have not spent all the time in the world exploring it, but with all of the different topics and channels to chose from the possibilities are endless. For the Kahn Academy it is hands on done step by step, well in the few math ones that I have watched they were, and very detailed where maybe the "slower learners" could get on and actually comprehend the material. TED being with such a wide horizon makes the possibilities endless on what topic to do and also to see what others may think of the topic you are learning or teaching but yes also being critiqued by others. This assignment surprised me, but at the same time it didn't. Without this class I feel as if I would be slacking in the technology department in my classroom. This class has opened up my eyes and broadened my horizon to things and technology that I would have never thought would. For instance this project and reading teachers blogs and reading the input that they get from others can be so uplifting at times. Anyone can be a teacher, you just have to believe in yourself. This project has made me want to try out some lectures, put them onto iTunesU and put them on my iPod just to see what it is like. I can not wait to try.