Self Introduction

Hello, my name is Jason Nagata and my dog's name is Taro

Answer the following question, what is your favorite technology gadget or gizmo and explain why it is your favorite.   

     My favorite gaget used to be my IPad2 for school, games, and making music. Now it is experimenting with the Raspberry Pi, a credit card size computer to make electronic projects. In addition, it has renewed my interest in programming again. As a kid I had a neighbor who was a game programmer for a company and let me test the games he made. I ended up spending my allowance money as a kid to buy computer magazines and learned to write my own programs and games. I also attended Kapiolani Community College as a Information Technology major, courses in C.O.B.O.L programming, AS400/RPG programming, network and database etc... long commutes to KCC and long hours writing programs/ and debugging errors burnt me out. I started to miss human interactions. Additionally I feared that one day I might be the one that makes a mistake that causes a company to lose billions of dollars or cause robots to take over the planet.

In this class we will have an online small group project, please describe your work style and two skills or traits you bring to an online group.

     I can say that I am dedicated and committed to my education and trying to help others succeed. Staight A's for about 6 semesters and only missed one day of class during this time due to food poisoning. I am more of a planner and I time manage well. I always work to stay ahead in all my classes.

Raspberry Pi video: 
Integrating technology in classrooms for 21st century learners
http://youtu.be/cc2Q0GUVEM0

Seneca works with Raspberry Pi

http://youtu.be/E-NzMfyYfRU

Why do I want to become a teacher

     There are many reasons why i want to become a teacher. I have had many good teachers and tutors while growing up, but it was not until I attended college that I decided to pursue becoming a teacher. Through my experiences and observations, I found that teachers have the ability to influence and bring about change. For example, by modeling, motivating and inspiring students, parents, and community leaders to bring about social change, environmental change, and political change. As a teacher, I want to model a respectable reputation, empathy, and curiosity for the love of learning. I believe that teaching shouldn't only be about creating a mirror image of myself, but to help students to become critical thinkers and in doing so, to better adapt to a changing world.

     I feel I would be a good teacher because I am a life long learner, love to read, love to observe and love to learn from others to improve myself and my skills. Most time I can be found reading a book or keeping up with current events. I feel there are many stories and life's challenges in the past, but what really matters or holds substance remains the same. For example, things such as human nature, life triumphs and tragedies, overcoming adversities, and social conflicts. Furthermore, Many of the problems we ourselves face today have already been experienced or talked about by other people, this includes classic literature, fables, history books, movies and so on, the only difference today is peoples names, time eras, and locations. I am also a contributor to the community, by volunteering my time for  school clean ups, the special olympics, and at a group homeless shelter for the mentally ill. In addition, I would like my students to be aware of social issues and think about ways of becoming a better person. I would like them to think about solutions to problems and contribute actively by helping our environment, and people in our society. An example of achieving this would be to assign community service learning. Students would gain valuable perspectives from their interactions with the community, and develope empathy for people of different ethnicity, age and culture. As a result this would, help instill school pride and a positive image of the school by the community.