Blog Assignment 2

Did You Know 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod:

     This video was somewhat disturbing to me. Yes, I do think that technology is a great thing and that we should continue to use it for research, education, socializing, etc. However, I do not think we should rely on it. Students and future generations need to know that other resources do exist. They still need to be taught how things were done B.G. (before Google).

     The video's predictions of the future was the most disturbing part for me. As a mother myself, I do not want my son consumed in all of this technology. I do not want technology to "dumb him down." I want him to know how to use an encyclopedia, look stuff up at the library, read actual books, play outside, etc. - not sit in front of a computer and/or television all day. I do want him to be familiar with it and know how to use it; however, I do not want him to become dependant on all of it.

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman:

     I feel Mr. Winkle's pain! Although I didn't go into a 100 year slumber and wake up to find thousands of new technologies and improvements, I am probably just as overwhelmed as he is. I am not very good with technology; I'm average with computer usage. I thought I was pretty good until I got a new computer last week (my other one was six years old) and have had the toughest time getting familiar with it.

     I'm on the fence with all of this booming technology. On one hand, I think it's great. I think that it could do and bring great things such as medical advances, improvements in education, etc. On the other hand, I think it could be harmful to the rising generations. I don't want to see students and children lose sight of what and how things came to be. I don't ever want to see or feel that technology is doing them an injustice. I guess I am on board with it all as long as children are still taught the alternatives as well.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity:

     LOVE it! He hit the nail on the head for me. I think that Sir Ken Robinson is exactly right. Children should not only learn and study mathematics, language, and humanities but also and equally important, arts. Whether it be drawing, painting, photography, writing, singing or playing an instrument, children need to experience it. Children deserve the chance to have their creativity tested and explored, not shut down and ignored.

     As an Elementary Education major myself, I want nothing more than to encourage children to be creative. It is how they learn, how they grow and discover who they really are. I think by encouraging and somewhat pushing creativity, children can reach levels that they never knew they could.

Cecelia Gault Interviews Sir Ken Robinson:

     As I stated above, I will definitely foster creativity in my classroom. I think that for a student to know what it is that they are good at and for them to find out what it is that they are passionate about, takes a little bit of exploration. I want the Cecilia Gault's in my classroom to know that they can do and be anything that they dream of doing and becoming, but that it takes creativity and putting yourself out there to get there.

     Referring back to Sir Ken Robinson's video, children these days are being taught that "making mistakes are the biggest mistake you can make." Children need to know that this is completely inaccurate. They need to know that mistakes are what gets them to where the want to be. Mistakes are how you learn. We don't need to shut students down and make them feel incompetent... maybe that's where our 25% dropout rate comes from.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts:

     I think Vicki Davis is doing great things in her classroom. I like that one of her goals as a teacher is to empower the students. As I learned in my EDF 351 class last semester, one of the most effective ways of teaching is to empower your students, to feed off of the knowledge that they already have when teaching and to always keep an open mind. A teacher once told me that teaching is not just about teaching your students, but also about making yourself vulnerable to your students because you can learn from them as well. I think this is extremely important to keep in mind, especially when times are changing and new technology is constantly being invented.