Blog Post Assignment # 2

Did You Know? 3.0 – A John Strange 2012 Version

Wow! I did not know. It is surprising to consider the U.S. is so far behind compared to other countries. The statics are mind-boggling; to think the number of English speaking Chinese is expected to exceed the amount of native English speakers in the rest of the world, is quite unbelievable.  How will our country compare to others 50 years from now? Well, if educators in schools do not make efforts to “teach” for tomorrow’s job and learn how to integrate evolving technology into the classrooms it will be unmatched. 

Today’s generation of children are exposed to “technology” at a younger age, and for educators to use the excuse, computers are just not available to everyone, is just that; an excuse. I know my two- year old can use an IPhone all by himself. So, why not use it as an educational tool? The more technology they are exposed to today will prepare them for the future. It is difficult to grasp the fact we are trying to teach children today for the unseen future, for jobs that yet exist, but it is true. Their career opportunities will be limited without exposure to current and future technology. It opens the eye to the out of this world, futurist world of education.

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman

Boy can I relate to Mr.Winkle? As I walked through the door of the EDM310 class, and started listening, I too felt like I had just woken up in a different time. I can not explain the overwhelming feeling I had to run and get out as fast as I could. Unlike Mr. Winkle, I was  at school, in a classroom, not a hospital, or a business. I was in a classroom that has changed the curriculum to incorporate the every changing world of technology.  I graduated from South Alabama in 2005 and had EDM310 before. It has changed and in my opinion for the better.As I watched the video,  and reflected back on today’s technology and what tomorrow’s will bring, it excites me. I have already learned so much just in a week’s time. Mr. Winkle’s story made me feel sad.  He felt comfortable at school where nothing had changed. I wanted him to be excited about waking up in a world that had changed so much. I wanted him to be curious and want to ask questions. This is what is going to happen to children today and future children if our schools and educators do not change with technology. They are not going to ask questions. They are not going to be curious. They are going to be so confused. They are going to wake up in a technology based world, and they are going to be lost just like Mr. Winkle.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

Ken Robinson says in the video “Creativity is just as important as literacy”. I had to think about this, and I asked myself, how is this true? Wikipedia describes literacy as the ability to read for knowledge and write coherently and think critically about the written word.  Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art, a novel, a joke, etc.) that has some kind of value. So to me, if one cannot think critically how would they go about being able to creative something new of value? How would one be able to generate ideas for movies, new technology, paintings, games, etc?  I can see how the two mesh together so well.

Be Creative Be Original

He goes on to say all kids are creative, and then taught not to be. I agree after a certain age; kids are scared to be original and generate their own ideas. They want the answers or ideas given to them. Many teachers want their students to be robots; do as they are programmed; sit still, no talking, etc. They are scared their ideas are wrong and being wrong is unacceptable.  They are taught to memorize through repetition, and then, as Dr. Strange would say, burp it back to us. This does not allow for creativity. They are not being taught to express themselves and learn from their own  mistakes. They are being taught not to make mistakes; mistakes are unacceptable.

I am taking EDU301 this semester so when Ken Robinson introduce the concept of the arts being incorporated into the classroom and started talking about the little girl that could not still, I thought about our threaded discussion topic in Dr. Vitulli’s class.  Why are the art standards incorporated? I think the value of arts in the classroom can be summed up in a very simple way, it makes it better. It is a way for a child to be original; be themselves. The arts into the classroom it allows students to have a more creative, have meaningful learning experience and allows them to “get it”.


Check out this Article:

All About Art Inside and Out

A Vision for 21st Century Learning

A Vision for 21st Century Learning, describes our current lives as instant gratification, constant networking, global connected, different from previous generations. We "upgrade" our lives with technology, so why not "upgrade" our ways of educating? Teaching methods have not changed even though the world around us have; children are still being taught the same old ways; to memorize facts for standardized test. Once the test is taken, the facts are history. They are lost. I think it is important technology is brought into the classroom. Should it replace everything? No, but so many things can be taught using technology. Yes, they can hold a book in their hand and read it, look at the pictures, imagine they are in the book, but why not take it a step further. Technology is not meant to replace current ways of teaching;its just meant to make it better. So many children already play video games at home, it just seems logical to incorporate learning into something they already enjoy doing. It is like the video states; they would not even know they are learning. 

Vickie Davis: Harness Your Student’s Digital Smarts

Vickie Davis states in her video there are many types of learners, and pencil and paper focuses only on one type. I agree. Learning should not be done through memorization, textbooks, paper, and pencil test. Let’s face it, that’s just plain boring and most of the time it is forgotten after the test is taken. I think using technology; iphones, facebook, twitter, blogs, can help all types of learners. It allows you to reach out to such a diverse group of children. It allows students to take the knowledge with them and apply it to life’s situations. It also makes it fun for them and less intimidating. A teacher’s goal should be to build lifelong learners. Everyone learns differently, so teachers should be teaching differently.Technology can be used so many ways throughout the entire curriculum; science, language, social studies, and reading. The possibilities are endless and can introduce children to the world.  As I watch the teacher in the video, I could just see how engaged the children were. It was exceptionally cool to see the teacher allowing students to make their own decisions as they worked with others. I can see how this would empower children and enhance their ability to learn.