Blog Post 2

Did you know?
by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod

This video is about how the technology affects the world.  It really got me thinking and honestly, worried me a little bit.  I mean, through this video I learned that soon China will be the number one English speaking country in the world.  That is amazing considering most of the people in America use English as their first language.  Also, India has more honors kids then America has kids. I began to wonder, is our education system falling behind in the world?  But then it made me think, how many of their children are not honors?  What is the comparison between that ratio and our own?  We may not be as far behind as the video was suggesting.  At least, I hope not.

The other thing that really got to me in this video was how far technology has come over time.  It stated that there are 31 billion searches on Google every month.  Before the next image popped up I thought, how did people find all of this information out before Google?  Are we becoming to dependent on the internet?  What would happen if we could not access our computers?  Would we survive?

And lastly, there is supposed to be a super computer built by 2013 that has the computational capabilities of the human brain.  That is less than 2 years from now!  Will people stop wanting to think and learn?  How will this effect education?  I was just about stretched to my limit when the video reported that by 2049, there will be a $1000 computer that will exceed the computational capacity of the entire human species.  My final question is this: will this computer be enough technology to satisfy the human race, or will it be our demise?  

Mr. Winkle Wakes

by Mathew Needleman

The video Mr. Winkle Wakes was a relief after watching Did you know? because I can relate to his situation.  In this video Mr. Winkle wakes up after his 100 year slumber and becomes overwhelmed by the machines all around him.  There are machines in tall buildings, hospitals, and even one in the back of a small classroom.  Yet, he feels comfortable in the classroom because it is set up the same way he is used to.  The students are seated neatly in rows, with pencils and paper, while the teacher is lecturing.
 
I am like Mr. Winkle.  I have not learned how to use very much technology until recently.  I did not have computers in school and did not need them until later on in college.  The closest thing, in school, to a computer was an overhead projector.  I may actually be in the last generation of true technological illiteracy.  I am currently taking this EDM310 class, and I am learning there are so many ways to use technology in the classroom.
 
I feel that this is an absolute necessity in today’s education.  Children now need to learn what technology has to offer because it changes and advances so rapidly and they will need to learn now to keep up with these changes.  Tomorrow’s jobs depend on what we teach children today.  This being the case, we can still have classrooms with rows of students, with their pencils and paper, but we also need to introduce forms of technology to them as well.

The Importance of Creativity

by Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson discusses the importance of creativity in education.  He defines creativity as original ideas that have value.  He starts off this video by explaining that everyone has an interest in education.  It may not be an interest in educators, but they each have an interest in their own education.  He compares this interest to the interest people have with religion and money.  I would agree with him on this.  People tend to be proud of what they know, and what they know is what they have learned.  They are also proud of the time they put into learning what they know. 

Children are not afraid to be wrong, he states.  Over the course of their education, however, they are taught that mistakes are the worst thing possible.  This consequently leads to the fear of being wrong.  When a child does not fear being wrong, he/she will continue to try over and over until it is right.  For example, if a child is fearless he/she will ask questions and give answers to figure out what the correct answer is without having someone tell them.

Sir Robinson then explains somewhere in an educational lifetime we are educating people out of creativity.  This is a shame.  His examples include teachers and parents telling children that they should not focus on art or music because they will never be an artist.  When in reality, they may very well be an artist one day.  Yet, if we only teach standard classes that are useful for work, how can we expect to advance any further?

He used Shakespeare in a jokingly manner to describe this.  What if his teacher told him to stop writing?  What if his father told him to put down his pen and stop talking like that?  I wondered if we continue to stifle a child's creativity, will we be losing the world’s next Shakespeare?

I believe that children do their best when they feel like asking questions is a positive thing.  I also believe that children should be able to answer questions and not feel bad if the answer is wrong.  Some of the most influential people in my life are educators and the reason I looked up to them so much is they never made me feel any less than them.  They pushed me to think outside of the box and praised me when I did.  If we all push children to have original ideas and praise the values of their ideas, then we have successfully stimulated creativity in education.  Sir Robinson does an excellent job influencing educators to do the same in a very unique way.  

Cecelia Gault Interviews Sir Ken Robinson
Recommended by Laura Scott


I read this article and watched the corresponding video.  The article grabbed my attention quickly.  It started out asking: why are other, less rich and productive countries, do so much better with education?

The article followed up with statistics about Finland’s dropout rate compared to the United States.  While their rate is less than one percent, ours is 25 percent.  I was initially shocked at this because one teacher explained to me that there are ways that can alter the number of reported dropouts.  The actual numbers are usually much higher.


This is why I was so shocked. I began thinking about why our dropout rates are so high.  Is it because students are not allowed to be creative enough?  Are they getting frustrated or bored in class?  What can we do to stimulate the students?


In the next part of the article, Sir Robinson explains students should be able to make better use of technology in schools and that there should be a balance between science and art curriculum.  I thought, would this help stimulate the students?  How would they benefit from this?  If students can have the freedom to be creative in the classroom, they will be more willing to try new things and will be more interested in learning.  If a student is interested in learning, he/she will not feel the need to simply give up and walk away.


Sir Robinson raises a good point by bringing technology into education.  Technology is constantly changing and improving.  This is a new way to bring creativity to education.  Students can create blog pages, picture albums, slideshows, and much more.  There are programs for music and art that can be explored.  By using technology in the classroom, teachers can give the same educational opportunities to the Cecelia Gault’s in their classrooms as the one conducting this interview.

Harness your students' digital smarts
by Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis uses technology in her classroom.  She is not an expert in technology, but she teaches them how to use it as a resource.  She constantly gives her students new terms and has them look up the answers on the computers.  This is a great way for students to learn.  Students learn more when they do something themselves.


She also teaches them how to make blogs, avatars, and other computer skills that they will need later on in life.  I can really relate to these students because I am currently taking a class very similar to this.  If I had learned this earlier in school I could apply most of my time to the content of this class.  
     
Ms. Davis is doing a great thing for her students by teaching them not only how to use technology, but to also be able to learn these steps on their own.  It is hard work, but it is extremely intriguing and will help them be more creative in the classroom which will help stimulate the learning environment.