Thursday, March 15, 2012

9 things that will disappear in our Lifetime

I read this interesting article in which the author made a list of 9 things in our day to day life which will cease to exist in the future.
For the most part, I wholeheartedly agree with the authors picks.  I found myself nodding my head with each topic.  There are some comments that I wanted to express based on this article.

1. Post Office:  I agree that people are using the post office less and less and that it may be losing a lot of money.  I do think there are certain essential services in which the government will continue to fund despite a lack of profit.  The article states that ups and fed ex are taking over and while it may be true, there are some cheaper people out there (like me) who refuse to pay their fees.  I am one of few people with friends abroad and so I use Canada Post a couple times a year to send packages.  I also believe that with the invention of certain websites like ebay and etsy the post office is getting quite a bit of business so that it will be able to continue running for a long period of time. 

The check, the book, the newspaper and the land line.  Will they fail to exist during our lifetime? Yes and No.  I mean these 4 things have already begun a new generation of their genres.  The check is fairly nonexistent already with the help of online banking and being able to pay for things with your bank card.  In reality that's exactly what its purpose was and now it has adapted.  The book and newspaper have both been revamped so that you can read them online.  Its the same thing, only now you read it from a screen.  I do believe that newspapers will start to charge a subscription because after all, the people who produce them need to get paid and we don't necessarily want to see ads posted all over our screen. The land line has been replaced by the cell phone.  It is the newest thing for younger adults to move into a house without needing a land line.  The only reason to vote for it to stay would be because when you call a family dwelling, you can get anyone answering the phone and that may be a source of excitement for you.  Otherwise, no reason to have it because every other feature is available on your cell phone (unless you have an archaic one and are reluctant to move into a modernized world!).

Music and Television going away is just rediculous.  These two sectors in the entertainment industry are far better paid than most other choices of employment.  Will actors and singers take a pay cut because their art form will be easier to produce and distribute among their avid followers? Yes of course! Can we be realistic here? They are severely overpaid as it is and maybe with a pay cut, will we have less people trying out for these sources of entertainment. 

Privacy hits home with me, maybe because Ive watched far too many movies about the future and sense that we are always being watched.  Call me paranoid but everytime I look around, there are cameras who are taping our every move.  If someone really wanted to follow us, they could easily.  Do i think that my life is under a microscope? Not particularly. I just dont want to ever do something bad that might have someone needing to find me because they will succeed with the right connections! 

So there you have it, my opinions on the article.  If you have some of your own, I would love to hear from you!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Lingro

I am soo excited about this site, you don't even understand!  I have been like a kid in a candy store, running around showing my colleagues all about it!
Lingro is not your average dictionary site. It transforms the words on any website to a clickable features that gives the definition.  I find that my students hate researching in French because there are always words which the kids don't know and it is time consuming to look in dictionaries or on Word Reference.  They usually end up going to google translate and try and translate everything into English.  This of course frustrates me as a teacher, because kids are soo lazy these days with technology.

 Lingro allows you to paste the URL of the page you want to use and you are able to pick the dictionary option that you need (there are so many languages to use here!).  At the moment, there isn't a French- French dictionary option but it looks like it will be coming soon as they collect more vocabulary from French sites.  My students are currently so lucky to be able to use the FRENCH-ENGLISH feature which transforms the words on a French website to the English translation.
What I like about it, is that the whole site doesn't change into English, just the words which need to be verified.  So students no longer have an excuse to translate the whole site into English to do their research!
What are we thinking about this amazing site??!!! Are you as excited to use it as I am?!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

First time blog users

Hello again readers!

This is my second post of the day to comply with my assignment.  Having already had several blogs, it is difficult to revert back to discussing how easy it is to set up.  The nice thing about blogging, is that it is easy and portable.  Easy because there are tons of videos online and tutorials explaining the process and portable because you can be anywhere in the world and still post! I like Blogger because it is very user friendly and so easy to tailor to your needs.  Backgrounds, pictures, and fonts are with one click of the button.
We were told to use Edublog and I can see my students getting involved in edublog in the future because it is secure. However; for the purposes of my blog, I want to have the world to have access.
Another reason why Blogger is easy is that you can use your google login.  Its very simple to start a blog if you already have a gmail account (which of course I have).

First post as a tech blogger!

Hello readers!

I am taking an AQ course in Integrating technology and computers in the classroom.  It has sparked my interest that I can help teachers by giving sites which may help their pedagogy and enable them to motivate students to learn the 21st century way.  My name is Ashley and I am a French Immersion grade 6 teacher in my second year of teaching.  I have been to tons of workshops on integrating technology and have had lots of trouble finding sites which are safe and which I can use in my classroom.  It is extremely difficult to engage French Immersion students as there are not many cool sites which are offered in French.  It is my duty to change this!  I want to create a blog to help those less computer oriented and to enhance the teaching profession one person at a time!