Blog Post #2

       DID YOU KNOW? 3.0


     Oh my goodness!  At first watching this video was a sensory overload.  The music and all the changing words and shapes on the screen was overwhelming for me.  I had to watch it twice to get the meanings of what was on the screen.  The second time I was able to understand the point that Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod were trying to make.
     At first it seems like a bunch of obscure facts, which is true.  But when you read them again, you see the thoughts of the creators. Basically technology is running rampant., It is becoming obsolete almost as fast as it is created, and the United States is not in the lead with educating our children.  There are more ideas that the video points out but these are the ones that stood out to me.  
     I guess the statement that caught my attention the most was "India has more honor students than America has kids."  I have known for a while that the United States was behind others in the field of education but I did not realize that is was that bad.  Of course this begs the question:  Do they have more honor kids because of their education system or because their population is so much greater than ours that the proportions would be about the same?  Sometimes statements like this video makes can be very misleading.  Unfortunately our education system lacks honors students as well as the technology that would help create more of those honor students.  


MR. WINKLE WAKES
  
     I really like Mr. Winkle Wakes.  The creator Mathew Needleman seems to be trying to show how far behind schools are compared to other parts of society.  According to this video, technology is used everywhere but in the schools.  The is a sad commentary on our society. If we do not teach students how to use this technology while in school they start their working lives already behind the eight ball.
     I believe that technology plays a huge role in our lives and our children need to know how to use it.  Of course, using technology in the classroom is an uphill battle.  As far as new teachers go, they are being taught how to use these new technologies in the classroom but many of the older teachers are still teaching the same way it was done fifty years ago.  Mr. Needleman brings all of these concerns out.  Changes need to be made in the classrooms and those changes will have to start with us.


SIR KEN ROBINSON:  THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVITY
     As I sat and listened to Sir Robinson's presentation, it became clear to me that he has seen a hole in the way children are educated.  Now, this hole is not one that is obvious to most of us.  But when it is brought to our attention, we say "WOW!  He is right.  I am draining the creativity out of my child,"  
     As a parent, I didn't realize that my children's creativity was being hindered by the way the educational system is set up.  Robinson makes it clear that all children are being forced to fit a mold.  No matter where a child's abilities lie, we force them to change to fit what we think they should be.  As educators and as parents we need to try to change this outlook on education.  We should be looking at students strenghs and cultivate them as much as possible.  If we do this we may find that it will help the students to excel at other parts of their education as well as the talent that they have been given.


CECELIA GAULT


     I happen to agree with Robinson on creativity and technology. The three myths of creativity are just that:  myths.  Everyone has a certain amount of creativity.  And I do not believe that there is a right or wrong way to be creative. Landscapers are creative.  Hair stylists are creative.  Housewives are creative.  Their are limitless ways that a person can be creative.  I think there should be a fourth myth of creativity:  that creativity only applies to art, dance and music.  This is simply not true.
    I hope I can incorporate technology into my classroom to help children use their creativity.  Children learn in so many different ways that if they have a say in what and how they learn they will retain the information much better.  As a history teacher I think allowing the kids to use creativity would be the only way to go.  Personally, I would like to assign projects to the students.  They would have a certain time period that they would have to tell an audience about.  They could make up a song or write a play.  They could even make a movie to show the class.  I believe that this would be something that would be fun and give them a way to learn a topic and to keep that knowledge.    I hope to use this technique to help my students to receive a good education using all of their talents. 


VICKI DAVIS:  HARNESS YOUR STUDENTS' DIGITAL SMARTS


    I am amazed at the amount of technology that Ms. Davis is using in her classroom.  In such a rural community, the skills that she is teaching her students will open up all sorts of doors.  But more important than that, she is teaching her students how to learn.