Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Blog Post # 2

1. Dr. Strange: Did You Know?

For this post I was assigned to watch Did You Know by Dr. Strange. It is a remake video based on Karl Fisch and Scot McLeod Did You Know? Both of these videos are extremely interesting! I would have never guessed that China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world. A lot of the facts are about how fast the world is relaying a lot on technology and how it is changing every two years. How is it that technology is changing so fast? How are we going to be able to teach kids what we are also trying to learn if it changes every two years. Computers, cell phones, all them are booming at an enormous rate.
We are living in exponential times. "India has more K-12 honor students than ALL of the K-12 students in the US!" That is extremely embarrassing the United States is not taking education seriously. What is India doing different that the US is not? 25% of the population of India with the highest IQ's out numbers the entire population of the US. What can America do to improve the education that is being taught? Both of these videos have outstanding facts about technology.

2. Mr. Winkle Wakes

Watching, Mr. Winkle Wakes was in it's own way very interesting. At first I thought this video was pointless what man sleeps for 100 years? When thinking deeper about it the world has changed tremendously! Thinking about my grandparents I know that they are having trouble with all the technology and how to work a computer and even the new phones. The old saying, "it's harder to teach old dogs new tricks" is absolutely true. How are we learners and educators of the future going to be able to adapt to the new technology? Will we be driving cars? What will they look like? Will we even have to drive at all or will they drive themselves? If they do drive themselves will that cause more or less accidents?
What will our future hold for us? As educators we will have to learn at a much faster pace to teach our students what they should learn. I am actually scared about all the technology. It is an amazing tool to have but what will happen to the old America? Will morals still apply or will they be completely different. Will children get the same amount of activity or will obesity become an even bigger problem. I have all these questions about technology but they will not be answered until the technology is already here.

3. Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

I found Ken Robinson's video absolutely amazing! I laughed along with the audience at the things he said. I completely agree with him that children today are being taught out of creativity. Being creative is such an important part in a child's learning and a great way to express themselves. I work at a daycare with four year olds and I love it. They say and do some of the funniest things. It's amazing how their mind works and how they can pretend to be in the forest or queen of the world. How is their imagination so powerful and strong? I wish sometimes I could lie on the floor and play with Barbies for hours. I also agree that we are trying to only to teach facts. What happened to learning new things? Now teachers are teaching what they have to so the kids can do well on the test. I cannot stand that way of learning. You don't hold the knowledge for a long time just until you finish the test.
Wrong. What is being wrong and why is it so negative? Why is it that a teacher can say, "Their are no stupid questions" but other children still laugh? I myself always ask why and how. I don't want to know just the answer I want to know why it's the answer and why it couldn't be this. We learn something new everyday no matter how big or small. I also liked in the video how he talked about the difference in times about having a degree. How if you had a degree you were almost guaranteed a job. Now you have to work so much harder at getting a job even if you did graduate from college at the top of your class. Hopefully I will be a fast learner in the technology world and be one of the lucky ones and get a job.

4. 21st Century Learning

Watching Century Learning I disagreed with the thought about learning only being online. Teacher are mentors but I believe that a child should not sit in front of a computer all day to learn. Children need to interact and get to know their classmates and know how to hold a conversation. Children should not learn every subject from a computer. I have online classes and I absolutely hate them. I am very hands on and have to listen to someone talk, even if I do almost fall asleep. I want to be able to ask questions right then and have an answer. While on the computer I do not have that advantage. It also takes away their ability to express their creativity. If everything is taught online what will happen to future jobs? Will the childs imagination be destroyed or improved?
I would hate to know that I was sending my child to school to learn only by the computer. How will children be able to write their name if they have only typed. Will grammar be a subject? Who knows what kind of technology will be used to correct grammar. I totally disagree with fully online teaching. Yes, technology has helped us learn but too much can hurt us. I love seeing and doing art but with an online class how will they do art projects? Hopefully fully online teaching does't happen because I think it will hurt our children's motor skills and dealing with society.

5. Vicki Davis: Hardness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Part of me disagrees with this Digital Smarts video. Ms. Vicki Davis teaches her students how to use wikis, blogs, podcasts, digital storytelling, virtual worlds, and other digital tools to connect her students with other people around the world. I agree that students should want to learn and it is a great feeling when a student figures out how to do something on their own and they can teach their classmates about it. Students don't always want to be sitting in a desk taking notes while listing to a teacher. Sometimes we tune them out and start thinking about other things. By having a computer class you HAVE to have technology. Just like if you were in an art class you would need art supplies. Our world is focusing more on technology than ever before and I do agree that we should know more about it and what it can do.
On the other hand, I do not think that we should solidly teach every subject on the computer! Ms. Davis said, "While teaching students on pen and paper only some will succeed". While that statement is true to an extent by teaching solidly by the computer has the same effect. Not all students will succeed by learning on the computer. If someone told me that there would only be online classes given at the University of South Alabama I would transfer schools in a heart beat. It is the hardest thing for me to learn online. Hopefully the school system will see that yes technology is a wonderful teaching TOOL it should not be the only way of learning. Good luck to all of us trying to become educators, or as some would say mentors!

3 comments:

  1. Hello Emily!
    I have to start out by saying that you seem to have a very inquisitive nature. I doubt few things have a chance to get past you with a fair amount of thought and analysis. I agree with your thoughts on taking online courses. I too need the interaction of the instructor to be able to grasp the complete idea of the lesson. Self taught lessons for today's younger generation is almost taken for granted. They are guided through the process in all grades and it is become second nature for them. But like you stated, nothing replaces a good, interesting, knowledgeable teacher or mentor.

    Your blog's synopsis of the videos is easy to follow and understand. I appreciate the main ideas being restated. Any reader should be able to grasp the video's main points with ease. This may be picky but perhaps your font selection should be less ornamental. I had difficulty reading it. Outside of the official blog this font is attractive and shows your personality very well. Don't forget to add a photo to your blog. It makes them even more interesting to look at.

    I try not to be "Picky Patty" when I have to assess someone's work. But my kids will tell you otherwise. Bear with me while I make a few suggestions. In "Did You Know?" first paragraph I believe you mean relying instead of relaying. In the second paragraph you began a sentence with a number instead of spelling it out. I learned that it can be stated as a number only when it is contained within the sentence. The second sentence in "Mr. Winkle" will read smoother if you make two out of it. In "21st Century Learning" first paragraph add '21st' to the title and check your spelling of 'sentences' near the end. In the last video reviewed remove the 'd' that jumped into the title and in the second paragraph add a 'y' to ever. In the grand scheme of things these mistakes are easy to overlook. I can spend as much time checking for my own errors as I do initially writing a paper.

    Keep up your inquisitive nature. The world needs more people to question ideas and ideals. Questions spark communication. And communication is what it's all about. Best of luck in EDM310.

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  2. "What is India doing different that the US is not?" Indians (and the Chinese) are having more babies. This statistic is related to the POPULATION SIZE.

    "...what will happen to the old America?" A very good question? It will be up to you (and your fellow teachers) to help shape the answers to that question.

    "Now teachers are teaching what they have to so the kids can do well on the test. I cannot stand that way of learning. " Nor can I.

    "I want to be able to ask questions right then and have an answer." That's easy on a computer. It is more difficult if you have to wait for the next class. Or if the teacher does not leave time for questions. Or if others take up all the time there is.

    Laura's comment contains some good suggestions.

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  3. Hi Emily,

    You posted a comment on one of my student's blogs at http://kidblog.org/MrsDiazsScholars/. We read it today and we are so excited that you and some of your classmates are following our kids. Thank you so much for taking the time to post!

    I would like to comment about your #4 21 Century Learning. I have not seen the video you refer to, but I understand your conflict over how much time students should use the computer. In your comment, you state that kids still need time to interact face to face. I agree with you and can assure you that the students in my class cooperate, collaborate, create, and inspire each other while using the technology. It is so gratifying as a teacher to look on a class full of students who are all engaged, all learning, all problem solving and thinking critically about their work and helping each other. They are helpful and they share resources and links with each other. In addition to our blogs, we have a class Edmodo. The students are only allowed to access it from home, as its purpose is to connect what we do in class to our homes. Kids post articles, websites, and videos that I did not ask them to find, just because they love using the technology and want to know more. Now, I have to confess, not all my students access from home, but those who do are enriched for doing it.

    One of our favorite things to do is read a novel and create Voki's based on the characters in the story. The kids complete a character analysis worksheet and then once they are done they use it to make a voki. But not all our projects are integrated with technology. Some are integrated with visual or performing arts, or whatever creative thing we come up with. It's about problem solving, thinking critically and creating that are important, not the technology behind it. Technology is merely the newest, coolest tool.

    Good luck with your studies. I was doing something similar to you in my master's program last year. It's really cool that you are following my students!

    Sincerely,
    Jennifer Diaz

    PS. Here is the link to our classroom blog that highlights some of the projects we are doing. http://5thgradeorange.blogspot.com/

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