McKenzie revisited - Engaged

The next topic discussed at the seminar was Engaging students. irionically, I have been engaged in some student projects myslef in the last week, and only now have the time to revisit my notes. The biggest problem lately- the reflection process. I am a notetaker, but I need the time to 'ponder and gather' my thoughts in order to get the most out of my experience.

The first article refered to us involved The Wired Classroom about the difference between a tech room and actually engaging the students. it reminds me of Alan November's idea about innovating rather than automating with computers.

I have to agree with Mr. mckenzie about the power of images, particularly as thinking prompts. If you check his webiste, he alsways has photos and a special section for cartoons. He discussed the value of a good image collection and bad databae ( i.e. San Francisco Museum of Art0 and a site with a better data base that expands the possibilities with searching ( I.e. Corbus collection) Two other image sites that were recommended? the National Portrait gallery at the Smithstonian and a collection of global cultural sites, The Great Mirror, collected by a geography professor from Oklahoma.
I t is important to get students to think critically about images and get them to challenge themselves to interpret what they see. One recommended way is to use this idea of puzzle as presented in the Virtual Bead Loom, a beginners software, which allows students to weave and wonder through the pattern in order to replicate the Native American design presented to them.Beading, weaving, and puzzling serve as metaphors for the student to see the ability of the mind to accept a challenge and examine things carefully to come to a final conclusion or resoultion.

While this seems random here, in addition to talking about the power of images in the classroom, Mckenzie referred to a study done in 2006 that talks about the power and affect of the media on young children, calling them Generation M.