Wow very interesting!

I had to put this image up here because it's so interesting.  How does this information change the way we talk to our children about college and their responsibilities once they are in college? 
Go to this website for the full size image:  http://www.onlinecollegesanduniversities.com/college_america/

Technology has changed the world!!

Today the kids are starting this new assignment where they will be tracing various pieces of technology to see how they have progressed over the years and how these new technologies have changed our lives.

I'm interested to hear their presentations and see what they can find out about this amazing piece of our history This weekend I was poking around a Goodwill Store to see if I could find anything interesting and I ended up paying $.78 for a cassette tape and an 8track tape! I brought them in to show the kids, most of them are familiar with the cassette but no one (including me!) had an 8track tape at their house! It was fun.

The assignment can be found on my website and moodle!

Digital Footprint

This week we started discussing our digital footprints - the digital trail we leave whenever we interact in a digital environment.  This means that every time we shop online, play an online video game, text, make a cell phone call, Skype with our friends and family, etc - we are leaving a trail of where we have been online.  

I had the kids track their digital footprint for two days and many found that they felt they were interacting digitally for more than 40% of their time!  Technology has changed the way we live our lives and for the next few weeks we're going to be exploring this in class.  Our focus will be on how technology has changed the way we communicate.  This blog is a perfect example.  If I want to inform parents about what we're studying in class I no longer have to send home a letter - instead I can just post on this blog!

It's truly amazing when you think about how much technology has changed our lives and communication styles.  However I was a little upset that one of the kids asked me if I had a rotary phone or if I used a pigeon to communicate - geez!  

A lesson in Budgeting - a Success!

After grading the Depression budgets and trying to convince the kids that they could not feed a family of four for one whole month with only 10 apples and three loaves of bread (they had some trouble with the food section!), I had them fill out an evaluation about what they learned from the assignment.  The results were very interesting.  Here are a few of the most interesting answers to the questions.

Question 1: What was difficult about planning this budget?

- "The hardest part was trying to find enough money for everything and having enough money for food without being hungry.  Also trying to figure out how much food we needed was hard."

2) How did you handle the unexpected events?

-My group had to buy a new stove and pay for a Dr. visit.  We had to decide where to take money from and it was hard because we knew we needed food but wanted to go to the Circus so we had to make some hard decisions and it was not fun.

3) How would you feel if this was a real life situation?

- We would be stressed and sad at how little money we had and that we were working hard but it was still hard to pay for everything. 

4) What did you learn from this and what would you want to tell your parents?

-We learned that it was hard to plan a budget and that it takes a lot of money to have a family and a life. We would want to thank our parents for working so hard and paying for so much for us.  (I thought this was the BEST answer of the day!)

- We learned that it was really hard to live during the Great Depression and that we are very lucky to have everything that we have in our lives.

 

Overall I really loved this assignment and I think the kids really learned about the hardships of the Great Depression, the importance of having a budget, and they got an idea of just how hard it is and how much it costs to run a family.  Hopefully a life lesson they will remember.  Ha I was trying to convince them that as soon as they have a part time job or babysit they should make a budget so they can save some money and so they always have money to shop or go out with friends, or pay for gas in a car when they drive - they thought I was crazy but I say it anyway because I really wish I had a budget when I was younger!  

Next up... Digital Footprint - how has our communication changed because of technology?  More than you can imagine!