Did You Know? 3.0
This video, researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman, is one that shows visually dynamic statistics on how technology has grown and is continuing to do so over the years. I thought that the statistics, such as the years that it took for a marketing device to reach 50 million, are chosen very well. They are facts that are interesting and seem to keep viewers wanting to know more -or atleast, that was the case with me.
I thought that this video was overall very well put together. The graphics, in combination with the music, kept my interest throughout the entire 4+ minutes. The statistics were thought invoking. As I got to the end of the video and realized what all had happened during those minutes, it made me realize that things are constantly happening. It makes sense that people are being prepared for jobs that don't yet exist. The video made me realize how influential technology is and how it is constantly becoming bigger and better. Our society -not just the United States, but the entire world- is being consumed by technology, and I see that as a good thing.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
This video was a very unique one to watch. Mr. Winkle wakes up after 100 years to find the world around him has completely changed in so many ways. He gets an unsettling feeling everywhere he goes -until he goes into the school that he stumbles upon. In the school, he feels comfortable. Everything isn't run by technology or machines; it is just the same as it was 100 years ago.
While it makes Mr. Winkle happy that nothing has changed within the school setting, it make me wonder what the children are going to be doing after they graduate. They're going to be sent into a world that is being run by technology. If they don't learn about this while they are in school, they are going to be lost when they go into a job setting. As teachers, I believe it is our job to prepare young minds for the future. If we're not infusing technology into our curriculum, then I feel that our students will not be as prepared as they should be. The classroom needs to be on the same track and going at the same pace as other things going on in the world, such as the technological growth.
The Importance of Creativity
"Creativity is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status," was said by Sir Ken Robinson during this video. I don't think it could have been said any better. I found Sir Ken Robinson's presentation fascinating. He managed to get his very important point across, while still keeping the mood light. He kept people laughing, but also kept them interested. Everything that Sir Ken Robinson said was completely true. Children are being taught out of their creativity, because they are being taught that they can't be wrong.
I think that a child's creativity is what's going to change the world in 5-50 years. This is true with the story of choreographer Gillian Lynne that Sir Robinson told. If she had been a student in today's classroom, the teacher would have encouraged her to sit still, pay attention, and keep quiet until asked a question. She would have ultimately kept her talent hidden -which is quite a shame. Instead of discouraging students, we need to encourage them to embrace the creativity and imagination that they are born with and improve upon as they grow older.
Digital Smarts
What Vicki Davis does and how she teaches to her students is truly original. Her views on teaching are some that all teachers can flourish from. She said during the video that you don't have to know how to do something to teach it, and I agree with that. I think that her way of teaching enables the students to develop more of an interest in the subject matter. With this interest and technology at their fingertips, students can teach and learn from themselves rather than relying on a "teacher."
Her teaching is beyond just a simple pencil and paper method, and I think that this is very valuable to her students. They learn so much more with hands on than they could writing information down on paper. While teachers today do seem to infuse technology into their lessons, I have not seen anyone infuse it as much as Vicki Davis has. And I think that her students will be some of the few that will be well ahead of the learning curve when they graduate. They will be the ones to go into the real world and not get lost in translation with the new emerging technology, because they were taught to teach themselves how to use software, amongst other things.
Well, I don't think Ms. Davis' way of teaching is "truly original." EDM310 is very similar and that is the way I have been teaching since 1966. I even started a college that was entirely based on the educational principals followed by Ms. Davis. During this semester you will encounter hundreds of classroom that address learning in the same way. What EDM310 is trying to do is prepare YOU to teach in that way as well.
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely NAILED the message in Mr. Winkle Wakes. He didn't want schools to change! Well done. So many students (even in EDM310), teachers and the public at large don't want schools to change either. They often rally under the banner (a false on I believe) "Back to the Basics". My prediction: if schools don't change they will be turned into baby sitting centers within 15 years (maybe baby sitting centers and athletic, i.e. football, companies) within 15 years. The learning activities will take place somewhere else.