Learning, Technology, and Culture 2008

Inquiry Project 3

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:45:00 +0000

The last assignment for LTC 2008 has been completed! It is a digital story on what I realized about American schools and culture after seeing British schools and living in Plymouth for 3 weeks. Enjoy!

Google Map Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Here is a map that I created using Google Maps. It is the major battles of the Civil War. I could use this in my future American history classes. I would have my students explore the map and perhaps map out the different theaters of the war (western, eastern, etc) or more specifically certain routes taken by the Generals of either side.

View Larger Map

PLATE tech-tonics conference

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:00:00 +0000

Today the year 2 MAET students put on a tech conference. It was extremely informative and I learned a bunch of new technologies that I am excited to use in my classroom. The first was screen captures by using a program called Jing. Jing allows you to take images from your computer screen to make an instructional video. Here is my sample, giving directions on using Picnik to edit pictures.

(I am having some technical difficulties posting my screen capture, but hopefully it will be up soon!)

The next seminar I attended was on copyright issues. It was very confusing because copyright laws are a huge mess and never match up. I did learn a few tricks on making sure my students and I are protected from copyright laws. I also learned about Creative Commons which will be useful in finding pictures, videos, and sounds to use in my classroom.

The last seminar I attended was on using podcasts and vodcasts in the classroom. I already had the background on creating a podcast, which was helpful. But, we also learned about different places where a teacher can find podcasts/vodcasts that are pre-made and ready to use. We also discussed how we could use podcasts in our classrooms and recorded it onto a podcast that will be up on the PLATE website.

London Scavenger Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:16:00 +0000

Royalty

I talked to several British people about their perception of the queen and the royal family. They all told me of their great respect of the Queen. They saw her as extremely regal and intelligent. They also said that they did not want Prince Charles to become King because they do not think that he could ever be as regal. The people did not think of the Queen as powerful, but instead as a human being who serves the people.

English as a Second Language

I went to little Saigon, an area outside of central London, where a majority of the population is Vietnamese. The culture of the area really shaped the neighborhood. The streets were filled with Vietnamese restaurants, stores and people. It was interesting to see a place that was so different from the city that was only a few miles away. There I ate at Cay Tre, a restaurant that came highly recommended by the local newspapers. Here I experienced food that I had never seen or heard of before, something I did not expect to do in England.

Park

I visited a few parks in London and was surprised to see how many Londoners spend their time there. In the United States, parks are not as common in our cities, but when I have visited them, many people are playing Frisbee, playing with their dogs, or walking around. In all the little parks throughout London, I noticed that the locals would just sit on the ground, either talking, reading, or eating. I did not see anyone playing sports or games.

Class and Culture

I went to explore the neighborhood surrounding Brick Lane. This neighborhood was a mix of Indian and Bangladeshi cultures. Here I found a very unusual bakery called the Beigal Shop. It was a Jewish and Indian bakery. Here I ate a traditional Jewish bagel and an authentic Indian samosa. I found it very interesting to see this mixture of two extremely different cultures in one place.

Technology and Learning

After riding the tube many times during my trip to London, I noticed the use of technology in the stations. Many of the advertisements were screens that played an advertisement. Some of the screens even worked together to play an ad for cat food, where a cat jumped from screen to screen. Looking at advertisements for products is always a good way to get a sense for a culture and the technology used for these ads told me how ideas are spread in London.

Market

On Sunday, I went to a Bengali market on Brick Lane in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. I was expecting to find a traditional farmers market, but when I arrived I was very surprised by what I saw. Instead of only fruits and vegetables, a wide variety of products were being sold. Computers, shoes, power tools, and video games were all together in one market. I had never been to a market that sold used chainsaws and laptops; it was very different from any market in America.

My Voice Thread is an exploration of the Bengali market and Brick Lane.

London: Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:00:00 +0000

For 2 weeks now, we have been in England, but have not had high tea, so today we decided to go. We researched and found that the capital hotel had really good tea for an affordable price. When we got there, it was not time for high tea (apparently it doesn't start til around 2 or 3 in the afternoon). The Capital hotel was extremely fancy and we were wearing blue jeans!! They were very kind however and set us up in the sitting room and put together a tea service for us! We each had our own pot of tea, tea sandwiches and cake. It was a very authentic English tea. After, we went over to Harrods to check that out. I could not believe all the things that Harrods sells. I was most amazed at the prices. The market in Harrods was my favorite. They sold everything from Betty Crocker cake mix to a ₤2000 bottle of wine! After Harrods we went to little Saigon. Little Saigon is a Vietnamese neighborhood in London. There we sampled some middle eastern and Vietnamese food. The Vietnamese food was really fresh and different from anything that I have ever eaten. The servers were extremely friendly, but we did run into a little language misunderstanding. We tried the Vietnamese iced coffee and really liked it so we wanted to know if we could get some more to go. At first the waiter thought that it would be ok, but he found that they didn't have any plastic cups. He told us that he could put the coffee into a little soup bowl instead. Kristin said that we had to go on the tube and it would spill, but he thought that we said that we will take two. So, he made two iced coffees and put them in the soup bowl and cut a hole in the lid for our straws! People gave us some weird looks as we walked down the streets sipping from our soup bowls. After our dinner, we went and saw Blood Brothers, a famous London musical. It was really good, dramatic and funny.

A Very Busy Day in London

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:46:00 +0000

Today I was on my feet for 12 hours, walking and biking around London. In the morning I left the dorms before 7 am and headed out to a neighborhood in zone 2 of London. It was a Indian/Bangladeshi neighborhood that was home to the Brick Lane market. There I experienced one the strangest markets. Fruits, computers, clothes, power tools, shampoos were all being sold in the same market. After walking around, I stopped at a Jewish bakery. Instead of only selling Jewish baked goods, they also sold samosas. So, I had a bagel and a veggie samosa for breakfast. I then went on a bike tour of London. I did the same one in Barcelona and loved it. I was able to see central London all while riding a bike. The tour guide was very informative, I learned a lot and found out about some other cool places to visit. After the tour, I explored some of the smaller parks spread around London. For dinner I went to a Hummus bar, where you get a bowl of hummus and pick your toppings. It was a different way of experiencing middle eastern food. I see a ton of ethnic restaurants all around London. It is a city where many different cultures are together in a small area. After dinner, I walked over to the Tower and London bridges to see them light up. After exploring the area and seeing the Tower of London lit up, I walked across the Tower Bridge. Thinking that Parliment and Big Ben were not that far, I walked all the way along the Thames River to Big Ben. It was an extremely long walk!! It was worth it however, to see Big Ben lit up.

London!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:38:00 +0000

Today was mostly a travel day. We traveled by train from Plymouth to London, which took about 4 hours. When we arrived we had to lug our suitcases from the train to the tube to the dorms. Note to self: never bring a duffel bag, rolling suitcases are the best bet. When we arrived I quickly realized how good we had it in Plymouth at Radnor hall. The dorms were less than desirable, but I was just happy to be in London. After settling in a bit, I met my friend who is also studying abroad in London. We went to Covent Garden for dinner. It was a really cool place, an indoor market with restaurants and shops. We sat down in the courtyard and ate while watching an orchestra ensemble play. After dinner, we made our way to the tube to the Apollo Theater to see Wicked. I have always wanted to see Wicked was really excited to finally be able to see it. It was a great experience. After the show, we went to a London pub for a drink. Although it was a short day in London, I did some pretty cool things that one can only do in London!

Podcasting

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:20:00 +0000

After many technical difficulties Nicki, Krisitin and I have finally finished our podcast. Our podcast for inquiry #2 explores the importance of building a community and being unified in British culture. We noticed that many of the activities in the UK schools, from uniforms to singing songs, fostered a sense of community and camaraderie. Here is inquiry 2, I hope you enjoy.

Back to School!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:42:00 +0000

On Thursday, I was at Chaucer Primary School. This was considered the "lower" income school as compared to Widey Court. I did not necessarily think that the school was low income, but that is because I am used to how the phrase is used in regards to the schools in the United States. I was put in a first year classroom, the students were around 5 and 6 years old. When I walked in the children were being very disruptive which really surprised me. At Widey Court the students were really well behaved and the teachers did not have to raise their voice to get the class's attention. In the first year classroom, the teacher was constantly raising her voice to get everyone to listen. When she was reading a story, several students were wandering around the classroom. She would stop every minute to tell them to come back, but when one student came back, another would get up and walk around. She didn't even finish the story because she kept having to stop.

One thing I noticed in both the primary schools is that the students are given a lot of responsibility. At Widey, students were allowed to walk around the campus delivering messages from their teachers. At Chaucer, when we arrived, we were given a tour by two 4th year girls. They were extremely polite and showed us everything. In the US, I wouldn't even trust most high schoolers to deliver messages or give a tour by themselves. I really liked observing the UK schools. I saw a lot of differences between US and UK schools, but I also saw a lot of similarities.

On another note, here is the my sample podcast. It is just a test for me to use the technology inorder to create a podcast. click

Stonehenge and Bath

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Today was the very rainy trip to Stonehenge and then to Bath. Stonehenge was amazing. Although it was freezing, windy, and raining the entire time we were at Stonehenge, I still had a good time. Who would have thought that a grouping of stones would be so cool. I had never seen anything like it before. Bath was also really great. The Roman baths were impressive. I don't think we were supposed to touch the water in the bath, but I did anyways. It was bright green and warm. After, in the pump room, I tried some of the water and it was definitely an interesting experience. It was very irony and warm, not something I want to try again. Bath was a beautiful city and it was unfortunate that it was raining the whole time we were there. The Abbey was impressive and beautiful and just walking around the streets was fun. We tried the English version of a hot dog while we were walking around. It was a sausage with onions and spicy chili relish. It was a lot better than the water from Bath!

Widey Court: Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:59:00 +0000

After being asked yesterday to prepare a presentation about ourselves, Michigan, and American schools, Kristin, Nicki and I presented to Widey Court. The kids were most surprised by how long American students had off for the summer holiday. They were all ooing and ahing! Afterwards, Mrs. Browning, the head of the school had to make it clear that the reason why American summer vacation was longer was because we went to school nearly the entire time during the regular school year, and that we didn't have long holidays during the year. I thought that was really funny. After the assembly, I returned to the same classroom that I was in yesterday. When I arrived, my class was outside playing on the playground while the guitar instructor was inside tuning all the guitars. I walked around with my camera and took many pictures of the children playing. All their games were just like the games American children play. I even filmed two of the girls showing me their secret handshake! After the break, we came in for guitar lessons. Every student was provided a guitar that they are able to keep for the year and bring home to practice. The guitar instructor taught the students a few notes and had them play a song. It was interesting to see a music lesson, something I have never seen before. During this time, I was filming and talking to the substitute teacher. She told me that this guitar lesson was relatively new, but was becoming successful. I really thought that this idea was great, the entire class was learning an instrument together! I don't think this would happen in the US. With all the talk of cutting music and art classes in the US, it is clear that the English schools value their non-core subjects. I was extremely sad to leave, although I had only been in the school for about a day, the relationships I formed with the students were amazing. All of them were sad to see me go. My experience in Widey Court was extremely beneficial and eye opening.

Widey Court: Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:44:00 +0000

Today was the first day in the English schools. I was placed at Widey Court Primary School. It was a very nice school, probably higher income families. All the students were very curious about me when they arrived at 9am for the start of class. I was introduced and when they heard I was from America, they had many questions. The most important thing to them was the American movies. They asked me a lot of questions about Kung Fu Panda and the Chronicles of Narnia. They also asked me if I had ever been to Disneyland. They were shocked when I told them I had not, but I had been to Disney world. They couldn't believe that there was two! As far as the teaching part of class went, there was a lot of similarities between English and American schools. The lessons were very similar. For literacy, like our English or language arts, the teacher handed out a piece of paper with 3 poems. He led the class in a discussion on the theme of the poems and read them aloud. After, the students were told to answer 6 comprehension questions and then write a poem of their own. However, there was not enough time given for the students to complete the assignment. None of the students were able to even get to the poem. After Literacy, there was an art lesson. Mr. Dobinson had the students paint a beach scene. What was different about this lesson was that he told the class exactly what he wanted them to paint (a rock, some sand, water, and a sky, but no sun or sunsets). I thought that was different because usually art is a time for creativity and letting a child have some freedom. After art was the break. The students and teachers were given a 15 minute break, the students ate fruit and played outside while the teachers went to the lounge and had tea. It was very different from American schools, where there are no breaks. After break we worked on numeracy and this time Mr. Dobinson gave his students complete freedom. He told them to create a math game and to play it with a partner or two. That was all the guidelines, no type of math to focus on (division, adding, etc). At Widey court, I noticed students coming to the door and knocking frequently, asking questions for their teachers. Also, the kids in my class were allowed to come in and out from time to time. It was a very interesting experience!

Guns in the UK: A Digital Story

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:24:00 +0000

Here is my digital story on gun possession in the United Kingdom. I enjoyed this project because it allowed me to explore an aspect of English culture that really intrigued me. It was tedious to put together, but now I know alot about digital stories. I came into this week with no prior knowledge of any of this and now I can use this type of medium in my future classroom! Enjoy!

A Very Rainy Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:20:00 +0000

After being spoiled with the relatively nice weather during the week, we really experienced English weather today. We planned on going to the small fishing villages around Plymouth for our first free day, but unfortunately the hurricane wind gusts and icy downpour keep the boat docked and us unable to go out to sea. Instead, we walked around Plymouth and found someother things to keep us entertained. We got thai food for lunch, as recommended by a local. It was funny to watch Patty struggle with her chopsticks, but she caught on after awhile. After that, we went to the Plymouth Gin distillery and went on a tour. It was very interesting because we got to see and smell all the botanicals that go into making gin and at the end of the tour we even got a free gin and tonic! On the way back to the dorms we stopped in Primark. This time we made sure that we tried on our clothes before 5:45 (when the store starts to shut down for close at 6). I'd say we are really getting used to some of these cultural differences!!

Fourth of July in Plymouth

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:24:00 +0000

Yesterday was the fourth of July and although we were thousands of miles from home we were able to celebrate at the local pub. I was extremely impressed with the generosity of the Fresher and the Professor. They allowed us Americans to take over the pub and decorate it in American Flags and play American music. The people here in Plymouth are very kind and helpful. Like the Pub, the locals are very welcoming and friendly. Because of the inquiry project, I have been wondering around the city talking to the locals. They are always polite and many of them even let me record our conversations. It got me thinking about home and if the people in Michigan would be as open to talking to a complete stranger with a funny accent. I just don't think I would have been able to talk to anyone on the streets of Michigan, they would probably be annoyed. I think this is because Americans are taught to be individualistic and to keep to themselves. In England, people are more willing to open up and share their experiences and opinions. It is not hard to start up a conversation with a stranger here in Plymouth. In the US, people would think someone was weird or crazy if they tried to start a conversation with a person they didn't know.

Brainstorming

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Since it is more than halfway through the first week of study abroad here in Plymouth, I am really starting to think more in depth about Inquiry Project #1. This project requires that we take a cultural assumption that we had about England before we arrived and to delve deeper into the assumption and see if it is true/false and why it might be true/false in regards to English culture. I like to think of myself as concerned with the issues at hand in the United States today, and one of the issues that is most intriguing to me is gun control. In the UK, as I had heard, the police do not carry guns and there is a ban on private ownership of handguns. I have always believed that the United States should ban private ownership of handguns, or at least, make it harder to purchase a weapon and ammo by placing more restrictions and background checks on the purchaser. Because of the inquiry project, I have been researching gun politics here in the UK and have come across some very interesting laws and statistics on guns. In England, after the Dunblane massacre in 1997, Parliament passed the Firearms Act, which placed a ban on private ownership of firearms. Also, I found the process of licensing by which English citizens had to go about in order to buy a firearm before the ban. I'm not going to go into much detail here because I will be making a digital story on the subject, but the police were highly involved in the process. For example, police officers were required to go to the potential gun owner's home to inspect where the gun would be stored!! This is almost unthinkable in the US. I really like what the UK had in place for gun control, but I wonder if it would be as successful in the US. Our culture is so different and Americans value individual freedoms, such as the right to bear arms, so it would have to be greatly adapted for something like that to even be considered in the US. I am really excited to find out more about this topic and hopefully interview a few police officers in the process!

A Tour of Plymouth

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:47:00 +0000

Here is a digital story I made with MovieMaker. It is a virtual tour of the city of Plymouth. Remember, this is my first time making a digital story!!

Adjusting to the "Time" Differences

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:02:00 +0000

Today after class, a group of us went to the mall and exploring around Plymouth. At around 5:45, we were in Primark, a department store and about to try on clothes when we were told that the store was about to close. We gathered our clothes and set out in search of a dressing room. When we finally found them, we were turned away. The workers told us that the dressing rooms were closed and that we would have to leave. The store was closing at 6, but they were making everyone leave before closing time. It was extremely strange because I am used to going into stores and not having to leave until 15 minutes after closing time. They even turned out the store lights as we were paying!

After our store experience, we were starving and decided to look for a restaurant. The first restaurant we came to had stopped serving food at 6:30. We asked the waitress for any suggestions on where to eat, and she pointed us to another restaurant. When we arrived at that restaurant we were told that the kitchen closed at 7:30. Again, we asked the waitress for any suggestions and she told us of another restaurant. When we got there, the kitchen had closed. Once again I was shocked at how early things close here in England, especially the restaurants. In the United States, it would be extremely bizarre for a restaurant to even close before 10. This is just something that I have noticed and will take me awhile to get used to.

Day One In Plymouth: A Language Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:19:00 +0000

Today after class, the group and I were able to go out and explore Plymouth. Taking a tour of the city was a great way to get to know the city that I will be living in for three weeks. The city is a mixture of historical landmarks and modern day buildings. My favorite part of town however, is the section by the sea and the hoe. It has the least amount of American influence, unlike the outdoor strip mall in the middle of town. It was what I expected to see while in England. Winding, narrow streets lined with tall brick structures housing shops and pubs. Walking along the harbor and coast, I was able to see the true lifeblood of the city. The water was filled with ships and sailboats. Plymouth is an important port in England and it was definitely evident in the amount of boat traffic in the waters. Walking around the harbor, we stopped and saw the Mayflower steps, a link from the old world to the new. This made me think about the history and connections between England and the United States. Although many of our ancestors came from England, we are very far from being the same.

An example of a difference that I ran into was language. Although Americans and the British both speak English, it is far from being the same. At dinner, the waiter brought out our fish and chips and then asked us if we would like any sauce. I asked what kind of sauce they had and he looked and me weird and repeated his question. Again, I asked what kind of sauce they had and again he gave me a weird look and repeated his question. Finally, Kailey rephrased my sentences and asked what sauces they had. He then answered the question. We were both speaking English, but we didn't understand each other. By using the word "kind" to ask what type of sauces they had confused the waiter because he probably did not associate the same meaning to the word as I did. This experience with the waiter truly illustrated how culture goes beyond the basic things such as language. Just because we both speak the same language does not mean that we share the same culture. Culture is learned and depending on where you are from and how the language is spoken there, you speak the language in your own certain way.