Blog Assignment 2

The Strange Version of "Did You Know?"

Did You Know 3.0 A John Strange 2012 Version shows where the rest of the world sits compared to the United States along with how far technology has come. This video really did not open my eyes up to much I did not already know. The exact numbers and percentages alarmed me some, but since I was in high school I knew the United States was behind most of the world in education. I feel most of the blame falls on the parents. As educators we can only do so much. Even with the most valiant of efforts, only so much can be achieved in the classroom. This is just a theory, but I'm sure if you ask any of the students in that 25% from India if their parents helped or taught them at home, you would get a absolute yes.

For years now, I have been scared of the future. Not because where I may end up or what the future has in store for me, that I can all control. What terrifies me the most is what knew technological advancement will take place. I do not want flying cars, I'm happy with mine staying safely on the ground. It also scares me as an educator. I remember in high school always having that little smirk on my face when my teacher, who had been teaching for 25 years, could not figure out how to get the projector connected to the computer, or in some cases not even able to find the PowerPoint on the computer. I do not want to be that teacher that 25 years from now, I am in the classroom and I am holding up the class 15 minutes and looking like a fool because I can not figure out the new equipment the school had just purchased.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

In the video Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman,  we follow a short story of Rip Van Winkle awaking after his 100 year slumber. Mr Winkle finds that everything around him has changed. The workplace now contains computers and the ability to talk to people around the word in the blink of an eye. This is all a shock to him and suddenly does not feel well, so he finds his way to a hospital where to his surprise is the same as the office. He leaves after feeling even worse where he finds himself wondering into a school, and to his pleasure the school has not changed since the day he began his sleep. One hundred years later the school is ran and maintained the exact way he remembers, which makes Mr. Winkle feel better.

This story rises the very important question, "If the world out side of school is changing, why is the school still the same?" Now this may seem to completely contradict my previous statement on how I am scared the technology of the future, but that does not mean I do not believe it should be in our schools. My fear is just not knowing how to deal or work the new technology. This video can be evidence of why some students has a complete panic attack coming into college or going into the workforce. They are presented things they never worked with before. They may have all the knowledge they need for the job, but cannot work the tools necessary to do that job.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

Creativity is something that can never be taught. It's something that you are naturally born with and make stronger over time. Sir Ken Robinson discusses in The Importance of Creativity how schools are not only stopping the growth of creativity in a child, but also destroying it. All education systems through the world put the arts at the bottom of the curriculum. The basis being you will never need those things in a real job. Math, language, humanities, and science are all what is important in life. They tell kids that they are not going to become artists and dancers.

I completely see what Sir Ken is speaking of based on evidence of my own life. The fifth grade would be the last time I remember ever having an art class and even then it was only on Fridays. Once I became a college student art classes were optional and the required once were just an appreciation class, no hands on activities.

A Vision for 21st Century Learning

A Vision for 21st Century Learning is to bring to attention to people that the world is more than just listening and repeating, which is what our classrooms instill into students today. It is making the same argument that Dr. Strange makes about his EDM310 course. Classes should not be based on a "burp-back" system. I feel this has become a huge problem in today's education and I for one want to become an educator that changes this for a future youth.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

In the video, Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, we hear the story about a teach from rural Georgia who brings technology to her students. Not only is technology prevalent in her classroom, Vicki Davis also connects her students to others around the world. She taps into her students minds by making them think and even going as far as making them teach to the rest of the class. She even was taught by her students. She did not know how to Terraform before her students showed her how.