Did You Know? 3.0
I love this video. It is very simple and proves the point that the world is constantly changing around us. Not only is technology changing but the world is growing and using the technology in ways that were unheard of when our parents were children. This video is also inspiring, it shows that the best (or so we hope) is yet to come.
I enjoy having technology at my fingertips, I’m not the most technical person in the world but for the most part if I need something I can find it. I can’t even imagine the things that are to come within my lifetime and the lifetime of my children. It brings a lot of wonder to my thoughts: What will textbooks be like in the future? How much will my personal computer be able to do? Will online classes become the norm? How will my lifetime be expressed in history?
Mr. Winkle Wakes
This video did not appeal to me in the way that it was portrayed but I like the point of the message. I think that many people just think about computers when technology is mentioned, but not many think of all the little things that fall under technology. I also think that many people my age take for granted the fact that technology is “well-developed” today compared to generations in the past. I can’t imagine a world where only the rich have cell phones and very little medical advances.
The classroom part of this video however saddens me. I picture a classroom have power point projections and at least a computer or two. I remember the times when I was in school and everything was written on the board, but at that time it was normal. To walk in a classroom today and have no electronic help would make me feel out of place. I would feel that the students rely more on me and what I have to say and think because they don’t have the other points of view that the media used in a classroom provides. While that is all a part of being a teacher, to actually effect a child’s learning, I would be slightly afraid for them to rely completely on me.
The Importance of Creativity
When I looked at this video the first thing I noticed was how long it was, but it is very informative, thought provoking and even comical. I love the part about the little girl drawing God. That little girl is exactly right what we don’t know we will soon. While the drawing was simply her interpretation she believed that she was right, and no one can prove that she is wrong. The school systems do tend to tell children that they are wrong way too much. Who are we to judge a child on something that is left to interpretation? If you give a child a blank sheet of paper and ask them to color it green and they give it back to you with lime green, grass green, and dark green lines are they wrong? Some people would tend to think so but to me the child followed the instructions and colored it green, just many different shades of green.
The part about the dancer was inspiring to me also, as a child I danced (outside of school) and it was something that I enjoyed more than going to class. I could understand that some children would benefit from more extracurricular activities such as a dance class. Curriculum could be added to these classes to teach much more than dance if the need for it was there. I have learned that what is going on around me when I do different activities is how I remember them. If a child dances and is taught something they may remember those things by doing the dance in their head. For me this is done through music, when I study I listen to music or have the television on in the background. I’ve been asked many times how I can pay attention but whenever it comes time to recall the information I think about what I was listening to or watching and it is there. Also if the song later comes on the radio or I see the same show again I can connect it to what I have learned.
A child’s creativity is a wonderful thing. Children are not afraid to make mistakes as Ken Robinson says they don’t see it as a mistake. I think that creativity should be focused on in a classroom and each child should be helped or taught according to their interests (within reason). I would never want someone to tell me how to do something or that what I’m doing is wrong simply because they have a different interpretation.
Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts
I wish my high school had a class that wasn’t just books and lectures, sure we had computer classes but they were simple typing classes or how to take a computer apart. These classes were helpful if you didn’t know how to type or wanted to work on computers but for a normal student these weren’t skills that were helpful. I like how technology has been brought to the classroom in this video, especially since it is a rural school. The ability to connect to people worldwide can be a scary thought but many good things can come out of these connection if done properly. For a rural community this can change everything in the years to come.
Children learn through doing things better than they will learn from simply being lectured. I figured this concept out in middle school- if I could teach something I knew to someone else in my class I walked away with an even better understanding of the topic. This is very true in this classroom and is evident in the video. These children teach each other, work collaboratively and even teach their teacher. The world of technology is constantly changing and if you are afraid to press a button and try something new it will leave you behind.
I agree with you on the Mr. Winkles video. I also did not picture a classroom today having no media or teachnology. Almost all teachers back up their teaching with the interent, videos, or some other form of media to help illustrate a point. I would also feel out of place in a classroom with only desk, chairs, and a chalk board.
ReplyDeleteRegina,
ReplyDeleteI actually had different ideas about the Mr. Winkles Wakes video. The classroom itself did have computers but they were not being used effectively. Believe it or not many schools are like this. The teacher lectures whether they are using PowerPoint or simply talking to the students and the students are in the class room just listening and taking notes. This has been the norm for many years and I believe Mr. Winkle was pointing that out. There could have been more computers in the room with students in groups around them interacting with the teachers lecture. I thought the video was saying how there has been no change in the way education is presented to children in schools although technology itself has changed tremendously.
I do fully agree with your opinions on the other videos. I loved how you thought about the little girl drawing God. This also hit me as a very true way many teachers stifle creativity at such a young age.
Powerpoint presentations and a computer or two are ABSOLUTELY not enough. It is the willingness to settle for so little (or maybe the absence of knowing what is possible) that will doom our efforts at providing excellent education for our kids. We cannot, we must not celebrate those as worth anything compared to what we should be doing. You suggest that in your comments about Ms. Davis' class.
ReplyDeleteYou write: "Almost all teachers back up their teaching with the internet, videos, or some other form of media to help illustrate a point." Where? in Mobile and Baldwin County schools?" Let's go see. I will bet a LOT of money that you are ABSOLUTELY wrong on that claim. Do you have any hard evidence to back this up?
Take a look at the fascinating discussion about the same issues in Allie Glass's post and comments. She and Jamie Lynn carry on an excellent discussion. Read Allie's post and the exchanges between them. This is an assignment, not a request.
When I mentioned the powerpoints and a computer or two I was saying that as a minimum. I agree that its not enough BUT it is alot better than nothing at all.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers I had in high school were very willing to back their teachings up with online sources. When we were told to do research they gave websites that we could go to. Online sources were considered just as good as a book source (something that changed from when I was in middle school to high school). It may not be true throughout the entire school system but the teachers I had did use technology to back their teachings, especially in the foreign language department.
Also the line that was quoted was a comment left by someone, not me but I do agree that for the most part teachers are backing up what they teach with other sources.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. I attributed Ashley Hammond's comment to you. Sorry about that. How did I know Ashley Hammond had left the comment? I clicked on ashleyjeanann and found out. Try it. That trick comes in handy a lot.
ReplyDeleteMy point is that that having powerpoint lectures and Smart boards are not nearly enough. I think they are not better than "nothing at all." here is my reasoning:
1. Powerpoint slides are electronic versions of celluloid overheads. Both are "technological" versions of material written on a board or on a flip board. All of these tools are used as part of lectures. Lectures have as one of their primary purposes to convey information which students are expected to remember long enough to burp back the facts on a test. That is not always true. Sometimes these tools are merely used to inform, or spark interest in a subject. Much of the time they are used, however, to convey information as part of a burp-back learning process. We do not learn by listening. We learn by doing!
2. Smart boards do increase interactions among students and information, if used properly. But smart boards cost $4,000 each. I think that money would be better spent on putting the technology into the hands of the students. Laptops for every student! Mobile County just opened a middle school where that approach will be taken. Then the student has direct contact with the technology all,the time!
3. Every student should be able to be in touch with all of the information stored in the clouds (the internet) all the time. That is when we will have achieved a worthy use of technology in the learning process. At least that is my opinion.
Now we are getting an extended conversation going here as well. That is great! We are doing (thinking and communicating with our brains turned on). Wonderful. Keep it up!