Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Blog Post 2

Did You Know


I have watched this video about seven times and I still am not sure what I think.  Did I know?  No I didn’t know.  What does it all mean? I am not too sure about that either. It is quite an overwhelming amount of information and hard to digest.  After watching the other four videos, I do understand the importance of technology.  But after watching this video, I am not sure all this technology is a good thing.

For example, we are inventing technology to solve problems that don’t even exist yet.  Just what we need more problems.  My guess is we probably created the problems while we were looking for the solutions.  Today’s students will have 10 to 14 jobs by the time they are 38.  I was always told switching jobs often did not look good on a resume.   We will soon have computers that exceed the human brain, interesting but whose brain.

I do know one thing for sure, without technology I wouldn’t know all this information.  And they say knowledge is power.  

Mr Winkle Wakes


I have to agree with Mr. Winkle on one thing, change is scary.  If Mr. Winkle had been asleep for only 10 years he still would have awoke to significant change in the world.  Nothing ever stays the same.   However, I think the Mr. Winkle video was trying to make another point.  No change at all is even scarier.

When Mr. Winkle went into the school, everything seems the same.  It was comfortable to him.  But if students of today are going to be successful tomorrow, then schools need to change.  They need to be up with the technology that businesses and hospitals are using today.  Schools need to start exposing children to the technology of the future.  Otherwise, when these students get out of school and see all the unfamiliar technology that is used around them, it will be like they just awoke from a 100 year nap.


Sir Ken Robinson: Schools Kill Creativity


I love this video.  It reminds me so much of my own son.  I have two children, a daughter who is very book smart and a son who is very street smart.  My daughter loved school, did well in it and is now in college.  My son, on the other hand, hated school.  He struggled from the very beginning.  Yet, he is not any less intelligent or successful than my daughter. He just learns differently.

My son is a visual learner.  You couldn’t just read to him about history and expect him to remember it.  However, if you took him to a museum about history and showed it to him, he would soak up the information like a sponge.  If he could see it or touch it, he could understand it.   Sir Ken Robinson is right.  There are multiple types of intelligence.  Schools need to find a way to teach to everybody.  I think creativity definitely plays a huge part in achieving this goal.


Link to Laura Scott's Blog Post
Scholastic Link

This was a great video.  Sir Ken Robinson again expressed how important creativity is in an education.  He also stressed exactly how imperative it is to have technology in the classroom.  This point was proven by the interview between himself and student reporter, Cecelia Gault.  Cecelia has obviously been exposed to quite a bit of technology.  She was able to conduct a great interview and I believe her knowledge of technology had something to do with that.

I think to be able to provide the same kind of education to future Cecelia Gaults, I am going to have to be very creative and open minded.  Thinking outside of the box is a necessity.  Children today are very smart.  They are also very different in the ways that they think and learn. It is impossible to teach to them in all the same way.  I believe understanding and being able to utilize different types of technology is an important tool to have when trying to reach all the students.



Vicki Davis




Wow, that was impressive.  Vicki Davis does a wonderful job at reaching all of her students.  She realizes that for all her students to be successful, she is going to have to use more than pen and paper to reach them.  She focuses in on THEIR interests and goes from there.  She is definitely very creative in her teaching style.

The part of the video that impacted me the most was when Vicki Davis admitted that she did not know everything.  In addition, she did not have to know everything in order to be able to teach it.  She was willing to let her students explore and learn on their own.  Then she was willing to let them teach her.  I think her showing that to her students is very important. 

3 comments:

  1. It is much better just to link to the videos rather than embed them in your blog. If you do that throughout the semester you will make your blog very slow to respond. Some things should be embedded, but these are well know videos and links are quite sufficient.

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  2. I do think it is important to expose students to technologies they will encounter in their future education and/or jobs. Yes, technological change can be overwhelming, but it is necessary. You focus much of your attention on the concept of individual learning habits. I agree that it is important to assess each child’s strengths and weaknesses associated with the learning process. If a child is interested in an activity, teachers should encourage participation and ensure accessibility in the classroom. While encouraging these interests, educators must incorporate technology. I think that positive support and essential tools can enhance the learning experience while broadening creative ideas and expressions.

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  3. So you watched Did You Know? seven times. Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod thank you! It is fascinating to watch the reactions this video produces in students. And the more "mature" they are, the more "scared" they report being. Change is difficult, probably more so the older we get. We will not stop change, however. The question then becomes how we can direct it, shape it, make it work for us. Running or hiding will not work. Nor will trying to "protect" our children from it.

    How do I get all the teachers in Baldwin and Mobile counties to watch Did You Know? even onece? And if I were to succeed at that, what would I have to do to get them to think about how they must change their teaching to take into account the changes that lie ahead? And then how do I get them to actually implement some of the ideas they came up with.

    A daunting challenge. And we have just started on our journey in EDM310.

    "In addition, she [Vicki Davis] did not have to know everything in order to be able to teach it. She was willing to let her students explore and learn on their own. Then she was willing to let them teach her. I think her showing that to her students is very important." If I wanted every student of mine to be a Vicki Davis kind of teacher, what should I do? Let's be a bit more precise with that question. I want you to be a Vicki Davis kind of teacher. What do I have to do to increase the odds of making that happen? Think about it!

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