Chapter 11 Response

Out of the many "traditional" video technologies still used today, one of the most permanent and important is a TV. We have all grown up watching some sort of TV and much of the media we use is video. Hence it is important to have some sort of display device (in this case a TV) to utilize the video resources available. A newer emerging technology though that vastly improves on the function of the TV is the digital projector. These devices (often also in HD) provide a much larger viewing area and offer more input sources.
Even though compact discs (CDs) really aren't that old in the scope of things, one could definitely consider them a "traditional" audio technology these days. Many educational resources (especially older ones) are still on CDs therefore it is necessary to have some sort of playback device (boom box, computer, etc.). Improving on audio playback though, MP3s (or other digital audio formats) have greatly facilitated the playback and organization of audio. Especially people in my generation would understand the importance of MP3s as we have grown up with them and already know that they can be played almost anywhere these days and are very easy to organize and store. Audio is especially important for future teachers such as me (world language) as much of the resources we use are audio tracks.

Chapter 6 Response

I would definitely love to work in a classroom that has a lot of digital technologies in it. This is mainly because I've grown up with it and much prefer it over more "traditional" methods of teaching. Technology allows for more creativeness in my opinion although this obviously depends on the user's understanding of said technology. It is also much more "green". This means that instead of having to create 150 handouts for your students, for example, you could just provide with everyone an electronic copy of the material. One of the main technologies that excites me are Smart Boards. These are a great alternative to the traditional white board and according to the book, it "does not require any extra wall or floor space, since it uses your existing white board."

Superbowl Ads

I thought the best Superbowl ad this year was the Doritos pug commercial. Although this particular commercial wasn't as creative as a couple of the other Doritos ones, it struck me as funny. Just the scenes with the pug running in slow motion are funny in themselves and the fact this one is so determined to get himself some Doritos is hilarious. They probably know that most Americans love their dogs and often think commercials involving them are hilarious. It is a good angle from which to make an advertisement because it uses the funny factor of the wrinkly pug's running combined with the surprise factor of the door being knocked down by it. No one would ever think a pug could knock down a door like that (and most of them probably can't) but it makes the commercial unique.