Did You Know? 3.0
This You Tube presentation by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod is about the rapidly changing technological advancements that we are currently facing in our world today. I have actually seen this video a few years ago, and we showed it to our middle school students at the school where I teach. The students and teachers that watched it were equally impressed. The statistics and percentages used in this presentation were very thought provoking. I especially enjoyed the BG (Before Google) reference. My own children sometimes ask, "What did you poor people do before Google?" I think the power of technology can sometimes seem intimidating, but we must be prepared for it. This video sort of touches on the question Dr. Strange asked in the class survey, "Are you technologically literate?". And I feel after watching this video, none of us can afford not to be.
I think the thing that truly amazes me is that I was not born into this world of technology, and to see how quickly computers, phones, music, and technology have advanced is unbelievable. Computers, i pods, Google, and Facebook were not household names as they are today. As a society, we must prepare ourselves, especially our young people, to work, play, and live with this technology. If we don't, our country will be left behind the rest of the world.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
In Matthew Needleman's video, "Mr. Winkle Wakes," Mr. Winkle wakes after one hundred years of sleep and finds the world a different place. He visits a place of business and a hospital and is bewildered by all the technology being used. People being kept alive by machines in hospitals, business people worlds apart talking to each other face to face using computers, people printing pictures and documents immediately with fax machine and copiers are just a few of the changes that confuse him. Then he visits to a school and finds that nothing has changed there over the one hundred years. He feels a sense of relief that things are the same in the schools.
Mr. Needleman's video definitely makes a good point. Technology must be integrated into every classroom. How else will our young people be prepared for today's job market? I feel that technology may be slow in coming into our schools, but it's definitely there. I think classrooms have changed drastically in the last one hundred years. In the school in which I teach, each classroom has a Promethean Board and teachers are constantly being trained in new ways to use technology to teach our students. All students go to Computer Lab once a week and are required to make power points and movies and use programs such as Lego Robotics as part of their curriculum. We also have a Computer Club that competes in an annual Computer Fair at Faulkner University. Now I do realize that not all schools are as well funded as mine, but I feel even the Mobile Public Schools are working to bring more technology into the classroom. Sometimes I feel the technology is there, but the teachers are not trained to use it. Some teachers are too comfortable in their ways and not willing to change. I believe as younger teachers replace retired teachers, they will bring with them a wealth of knowledge in the field of technology. And then Mr. Winkle will be as confused and bewildered as he was in the hospital and place of business.
Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
First and foremost, Sir Ken Robinson is absolutely hilarious. He is a wonderful speaker and I would really enjoy hearing more from him. Robinson believes that schools are killing students' creativity. He used specific examples of how school systems are doing this, and I believe he is right. He quoted van Gogh by saying, "All children are born artists." What a wonderful way to look at our students. Children are not scared to be wrong, and they will always take a chance, but schools end this creative expression at an early age. The school systems seem to decide what it important and creative in education. We put math, science, and language before the arts, and some school systems due to financial constraints have completely done away with the arts.
Robinson believes that creativity should be made just as important as literacy. He also makes a very good point about how educators should rethink the fundamental principals we are using to educate our children. Our current system of education is based on meeting the needs if industrialization. Our world has changed. How can we successfully prepare these children for adulthood and the work place when we don't even know what the world will be like when they are ready to go out and find a job? Robinson really gives you a lot to think about. I will definitely share the comment that he shared from Jonas Salk. If insects were all destroyed, all humankind would end, but if humans were all destroyed, the world would flourish. Our educational systems are stifling student creativity, and society needs to change their beliefs about education.
Cecelia Gault Interviews Sir Ken Robinson
The little Cecelia Gault's of the world would all be better off if the education systems could follow Sir Ken Robinson's advice. He says he believes that everyone is creative in some way and students can also be taught to be more creative. He also said that education could improve if curriculum were balanced between the arts and the sciences, there was a better use of technology in the classroom, and a closer connection between schools and their communities. Another comment that was very interesting to me was that intelligence is so diverse that no one can seem to agree exactly what it is. Intelligence is so many things.
I believe that school systems are going to have to consider this and make these changes into policy to ensure children are receiving a quality education. As teachers we all know that students learn in different ways, so we have be diverse with our teaching methods. Teachers can also show their students the importance of the arts by bringing them into the classroom even if your particular school system doesn't have the funds to teach them. Teachers should also incorporate technology into the classrooms. There are many things we can do as teachers, but the educational systems of the world will have to change their view of education as well.
Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Vicki Davis is an inspiration to all teachers. Her school is in a very rural community, and she has successfully linked them to the rest of the world. She has found a way to effectively teach technology to all of her students without only using a piece of paper and a pencil which she thinks restricts her students' learning styles. Mrs. Davis has taught her students to be thinkers. They work independently and collaboratively in her computer lab.
She blogs regularly at Cool Cat Teacher and has introduced her students to inventive programs like Digiteen and the Flat Classroom Project. She has even taken her students to a conference in the Middle East to meet other students involved with one of their projects. If anyone thinks that technology is difficult to integrate into the classroom, they should watch this video. I personally like the way Mrs. Davis thinks that it's okay for your students to teach you, and it's okay to learn with your students. Teachers don't need to be afraid of technology. It is such a wonderful resource, and we should take advantage of all it has to offer.
Hey Mary, I really enjoyed reading you blog. I especially like one comment you wrote about how you were amazed that you were not born into this world of technology. I sometimes think about the fact that students currently in school have never known a world without computers, texting, and facebook. When I was in school if we had any kind of access to a computer it was a bulky, black screen with lime green text. Not to mention the first cellphone I can remember seeing weighed like 3 pounds. It is really amazing how far the world has come in just the last few years. What is even more exciting is that we get to learn the technology and pass it on to our students. It is such a wonderful time to be an educator.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite video was Mrs. Davis' video. I also loved the way she was teaching and learning in the classroom. I think that is how it should always be. The learning process is never ending and Mrs. Davis seems to understand that. Students and teachers have so many more resources available today then in the past. It is great to see an older teacher utilizing technology and like she said, not limiting them to a pencil and paper.
Where do you teach? Sounds like a progressive environment.
ReplyDeleteThe last student whose blog I read wrote "I wish he [Robinson] would joke less"!
"Mrs. Davis has taught her students to be thinkers." A fantastic accomplishment!
Well written, well reasoned, interesting, personalized. Thank you!
Dr. Strange, I teach at Corpus Christi Catholic School. We are blessed to have all the technology we have there. I saw you mention Jeanine Griffin on the EDM 310 facebook page. I think she used to be the computer teacher at Corpus Christi years ago. She was a good friend of mine. I didn't realize you knew her.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, this is my first "Peer Edit" so hear it goes. Overall, I would have to say that your blog post was impeccable. You have excellent grammar and word usage throughout. Your post was very easy to understand and organized. I also liked that you included the insect reference in your Robinson post, that was so interesting. The only critique I could give would be that in your first post paragraph (Did You Know?), you started a sentence with "And". I realize that it is entirely acceptable to start a sentence with a conjunction, however I like to avoid it unless it is a completely informal circumstance. Hope this helps you.
ReplyDeleteThere is a plethora of information throughout your blog. You do an excellent job of summarizing each assignment. You also do a great job of explaining how this information is important for educating the youth of our nation. If you could provide links to the videos, your readers would be able to better find them for themselves. You can learn how to add HTML links here. It is also useful if you add links to people or things that your readers may not be familiar with. For example, it would be nice to have a link to Vicki Davis's blog or Ken Robinson's website.
ReplyDeleteAll and all your blog looks really good so far. I look forward to reading more in the future.
Good luck,
Justin Cometti