Project 8 Group Podcast

Blog Post 4

 

Don't Teach Your Kid's This Stuff. Please? 

by Scott McLeod

Dr. Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University.  He is also the Director of CASTLE, Center of the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education, which is why he is known as one of America’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues.  Dr. McLeod regularly blogs at Dangerously Irrelevant and also at The Huffington Post about technology leadership.  He has many accomplishments such as being the first untenured teacher to receive the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Minnesota College of Education, as well as the William J. Davis Award for best research article of the year in Educational Administration Quarterly.

Dr. McLeod posted Don’t Teach Your Kid’s This Stuff. Please?  He uses sarcasm about teaching technology in the classroom to point out that teachers who avoid teaching their students about technology are really doing their students a disservice.

He tells them

don't teach your kids to write
  online
pen and paper aren't going anywhere
since when do kids need an audience?

Dr. McLeod then points out their need to keep the children safe.  He “reinforces” their “correct” reasons of why they shouldn’t teach technology such as cheating, sexting, and cyber-bullying and builds up to pornography and predators.  As we all know, this is the only thing that children can get out of technology and we can’t trust them.

He ends by letting them know he is teaching his students about technology.  Dr. McLeod uses an “I double-dog dare you not to” attitude as he lets his technology opposing colleagues know that in a decade or two it won’t be his students who are falling behind.

The iSchool Initiative
by Travis Allen


Take a look at the picture above.  Is this a classroom?  Is this how you would want to teach?  Is this how you would want your children to be taught?  A high school student from Georgia, Travis Allen, made a video promoting iSchool. 

When the video started I thought it was a joke.  How could you use a phone to get an education?  Mr. Allen did his research.  He shows how this phone has basic applications that are relevant in the classroom, but I am still wondering how students will take tests? 

He also shows how there would be better communication with teachers and parents, which is important in so many ways.  I do believe, however, that teachers and parents can still communicate by phone, emails, letters, and many other ways without having to use an iPhone.

Finally, he demonstrates how much money can be saved for the schools, which was over $600 per student.  This is amazing.  I am not by any means prepared to merge telephones into my own education, but kids seem to know more about them than I do already. 

I understand that saving money is important for education.  There are already too many budget cuts and it is important that we address that issue.  I just don’t think that this is the right way.  Not all families can afford for their child to have a cell phone, let alone an iPhone.  Even if the school pays for the phone, who is going to pay for the monthly service?  He said that this would cost about $150 a student, but the last time I checked iPhones start at $199 and there are still monthly payments for service.

Who is going to foot that bill?  How much will this really save?  Is this really worth it?

The Lost Generation

by Jonathon Reed

This video was amazing!  I would say it is the best we have seen so far.  The presentation was a bit of a shock.  It started off so dark and depressing, but realistically very true.  I couldn’t believe how it turned around and gave such a positive outlook on our generation.

It is true that unfortunately most people define success by how well they do at their job.  This is why families are pushed to the side, so that we can get ahead in our own careers and in our separate lives.  This video is meant to make people stop and think about what they are doing. 

This video was extremely right.  It really makes you sit back and put things into perspective.  I literally almost cried as I watched the end of it.  Sometimes we all need a reality check. 

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

by Eric Whitacre

  

Jennifer Chamber posted this to her EDM310 blog.  The link we had to her page said “I think I am a blogger” which was great in itself.  I have never blogged before this class.  This is a new lifestyle that I am actually enjoying.  Finding videos like this on your own and being able to share them with your network is truly awesome.

I watched this video because someone who took the same class that I am now taking had mastered her blogging abilities and passed it on for future students to enjoy.  I think that is so neat to be able to give people so much information even before having the chance to meet them in person.

Saying it that way doesn’t seem like it is the best form of communication, but it is really a different form of communication.  None of the people in this video met each other or practiced with each other.  They all did this on their own over the internet.  I am so glad I witnessed such a beautiful thing thanks to a former student of a mutual class. 

Teaching in the 21st Century 

by Kevin Roberts

What does to teach mean in the 21^st century?  It means we do not need to just be teaching facts and content.  We need to teach skills.  What kind of skills?  We need to teach many skills such as how to synthesize information, how to communicate that information, and how to problem solve the information at hand.

How do we teach these skills?  The video suggests rethinking the tools we use and the types of questions we ask our students.  I completely agree.  Simply asking questions that require an a,b,c, or d response is not enough.  Why don’t we try asking questions, not so much for the right answers but for why that is the right answer? 

Mr. Roberts was right that students do not need to be entertained; rather they need to be engaged.  Students are only engaged in the material when they are being challenged.  I will always stand by what I believe and I believe that without a challenge, nothing is learned.

Therefore, let’s go out there and promote thinking!  We have to face it, simply producing the correct answer is not enough to be considered educating.

Project 6 This is My Sentence

Black History Month Book Trailer

Blog Post 3

 

A Vision of Students Today
by Michael Wesch

Michael Wesch and the students of Introduction to Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University share information about college students today that was collected through a survey.  I honestly feel that they have captured my personal college experience from the 26.5 hour days to the students not taking their classes seriously.  I went to a smaller university before transferring to the University of South Alabama.  There I did not encounter really anything on this video because the large classrooms consisted of 25-30 students and no one ever brought a laptop to class.  My classes now, however are sometimes much larger and most of them are hybrid. 

Next they point out that when we graduate we will be $20,000 in debt, if we are one of the lucky ones, but what are we really paying for?  The video showed a girl holding a sign about her neighbor who paid for the class, but never goes.  I will admit, when I was younger I did this.  I really regret it now.  I feel like I paid to miss out on an opportunity that many other people will never have, so now I go to every class.  I also would like to point out that I chose this image because this has happened to me at least once every semester that I have been in school.  Why are we required to buy these books if we are never going to need them?  Is the commission on them really worth the waste? 

Some teachers are now using E-books, but I find that they are not much better.  The purposes of books are to use them.  To use them we must write notes on them and highlight them.  To do this with an E-book, you would have to print them which really defeat the purpose.  

The video stated that some have suggested that technology alone can save us, yet in class I often see students on computers or cell phones checking up on Facebook, Twitter, emails, and many other things on the internet.  This means that no one is paying attention to the teacher.  So why are we even bothering to sit in the classrooms for three or more hours a day?  Sometimes I find that I am more aggravated going to class, than just learning it on my own. 

The end of this video really shook me when it was asking how taking these tests and going to these classes will help us with world problems.  We did not create these problems, yet we are the ones who will deal with them.  I seriously wonder how the classes I have taken have prepared me for this.  I have taken over 100 credit hours and I do not recall any of my teachers talking about current events or encouraging us to even follow the local news.  How will this work out?

As for what I would add to this video, I would add a few more hours to the day.  There are things not recorded as time that students really have such as being a parent, being part of a social group, or even time spent exercising or athletics.  Students don't always just go to class, study, eat, sleep, and work.  The comment in the video, however, is still correct.  I am a multitask-er.  I have to be.

 

It's Not about the Technology 

by Kelly Hines

This post completely stated how I feel about technology in the classroom.  Ms. Hines explained the four things that have to happen for technology to succeed in the classroom, the first being that teachers must be learners.

Being a learner does not mean attending required meetings and reading required materials.  To be a good learner we must go beyond what is required and stay up to date on new trends and new ways of teaching.  She emphasizes on teachers being self-motivated in their pursuit of evolving understanding. 

This brings me to her second point that learning and teaching is not the same thing.  She mentions that she often hears teachers complain that they have taught this hundreds of times and they don’t understand why students are not getting the material.  I have heard this many times myself.  When someone says this what is your first thought?  Was it the students or was it the teacher?  Either way, this needs to be resolved.

My favorite part of this post was Ms. Hines’ comment: 

I equate teaching and learning to a basic physics principle. If an object does not move, no matter how much force has been applied, no work has been done. Therefore, if a student has not learned, not matter how much effort has been exerted, no teaching has been done.

She is right that not all students are going to learn the same way; therefore we must do whatever it takes to help them understand.

The third thing she recognizes is that technology is useless without good teaching.  I agree that without teachers having the correct comprehensive and curriculum development, we are simply using the basics of technology.  Why would we spend thousands of dollars to only teach students word processing and games?

This is why she suggests that we should be a 21^st century teacher without the technology.  If we can teach the students successfully without the use of technology, then when we apply that knowledge to technology it will be amazing to see what we can accomplish.  Ms. Hines’ proposes that we teach students critical thinking and problem solving skills which will help them more throughout their lives.  Once we have accomplished this, then we can introduce technologies to support what the students have learned.

I find this method of teaching to be extremely fascinating.  I believe that students should learn how to do things without technology that way they will actually understand what they are learning.  For example, you wouldn’t give a first grader a calculator to learn 5+5=10.  Why?  Because if you did, they would not get the concept that a set of 5 increased by another set of 5 would give them a total set of 10.  Why would we do this for any other subject matter as well?

Is It Ok to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
by Karl Fisch


Although Mr. Fisch put a disclaimer for his post as well as the post he published by someone else, I couldn’t help but be a little offended.  However, I also feel like my eyes have been opened to the other side of the technological controversy in education. 

As we all know from the last blog response I had, how I feel about technology in education.  I am not saying that I am proud to be technologically illiterate, but I am not saying I am not proud of this.  In this blog post, Mr. Fisch explains how he feels about teachers who are technologically illiterate.  What that made me think about is what does it take to be “technologically literate”?  Who decides when someone has learned enough about technology?

I will admit that before this class I was head strong about not wanting to learn about technology.  I was ashamed that I don’t know much about it, and even more embarrassed to ask someone for help.  Because of this, I was not looking forward to having technology forced on me in this EDM310 class. 

Nevertheless, it was a required class that I had to take.  I am now very thankful for this course and for Dr. Strange and his staff.  They have taught me that I can learn many things that technology have to offer on my own and that I should not be embarrassed to ask questions.

I think what I liked the best about Mr. Fisch’s post was that his main concern is for future students.  He is encouraging teachers to learn more about technology so that they can teach the next generation.  My favorite part of his brutally honest blog was:

You need to demonstrate continual learning, lifelong learning – for your students, or you will continue to teach your students how to be successful in an age that no longer exists.

I completely agree with this statement.  As teachers we should not feel ashamed or embarrassed if there is something we do not know, especially since there are technological tools to help us learn.  I know that Mr. Fisch does not want people to still think of technology as a tool, but in reality it is something that we can use to learn what we do not know.  This is the same if technology is what we do not know.  

Mr. Fisch left us with a question:

If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write.

So I guess what I have learned by reading this post is that I should continue to learn about technology and get past my fear of the unknown.  This is the way the world is heading and I cannot fall behind even if it’s only for my students’ future educations.

The Changing Social Media Count
by Gary Hayes

The numbers on this site were changing so rapidly I could almost hardly believe it!  For about 30 seconds I just watched in amazement.  How could there be this many people online right now?  How do they all know how to do this?  Who taught them and what made them want to learn?

This post really made me think about how big the world really is, yet how small the internet makes it seem.  There is so much going on at one time through technology, that it is overwhelming and a bit intimidating.  As a teacher I need to inform myself of these different forms of technology.  My students will most likely all ready have knowledge of some of these networks.  If there are that many people out there who are doing all of this right now, than why can’t I be one of them?  I am going to use these rising numbers as encouragement to join the world and learn what I can through technology!

Project 5

C4T Comments for Teachers Post 1

Wisdom Begins with Wonder
by Mr. Rice
  

C4T#1, Comment 1

What to do when students resist inquiry

In this blog post by Mr. Rice, he sets up a scene where a teacher has opened up his class to student inquiry. The scene is between a student and a teacher. The teacher is trying to provoke curiosity in the students to get them to explore the world with eagerness. The student, however, complains to the teacher that he doesn’t want to because he is “bored” and would rather work from a worksheet or textbook. The teacher tries to remain positive, before the scene goes downhill quickly when the student compares this method of teaching to another teacher’s and asks why not the latter? The teacher tries to explain why he thinks this method is better for learning and the student takes that as the teacher thinks the other teacher is a bad teacher.

In this scenario, the teacher is using inquiry-based methods instead of traditional teaching. This is where students must think critically and make decisions. Mr. Rice points out that by using inquiry, the student is responsible for his/her own learning and it removes the blame on the teacher for the student’s boredom or inability to learn. He gives an example of how he deals with this situation when it comes to his students:

“this is the perfect class for you! We’ve found an area where you need some work. The skills that I’m helping you to learn in this class will help you in future classes, college, careers, whatever. The ability to ask good questions and to find the answer to your own questions is fundamental to life. I won’t give up on you and I won’t think less of you for struggling or being frustrated. Don’t give up on yourself. How can I help you move forward?”

Through this example he then lists the steps that an educator using inquiry should use to deal with this type situation.

• Calmly acknowledge and affirm the student’s frustration
• Gently point out the fixed mindset (believe talents and abilities cannot be improved through any means) and lack of personal agency (capacity for human beings to make choices) the student is displaying
• Look at this as the student’s particular learning needs
• Understand this is a behavior of a need to learn and develop inquiry skills
• Make a note that this student needs help with inquiry situations
• Explain all of this to the student in student friendly terms
• Check back with the student often and give feedback to help ease his/her frustration.

Lastly, Mr. Rice asks his readers “What else should the teacher do in this situation?” This opened up for reader’s comments.

Most of the comments posted where in agreement with Mr. Rice’s blog post. My response was based on his example of how to deal with the situation between the teacher and student and his question of what else the teacher should do in this situation. Students often get more frustrated when told the reason they have to do something or learn something is it will help them in their futures. Instead of leaving it that way, the teacher may want to give an example of how learning this can help them now as well. I then gave a personal example of a situation that I dealt with recently.

I am helping a 10 year old girl I know with her reading. I explained to her how asking good questions in a discussion and learning how to find the answers out on her own could help her reach her reading goals for her class and how she responded well to my suggestions. I also posted that I would appreciate any personal experiences and opinions about this subject and left my contact information.

I posted my comment to his blog and it showed up immediately afterward on his page, but once I returned to the site my blog comment was not showing.

C4T#1, Comment 2

How to be a better teacher today – a long look in the mirror

Back to the drawing board.  It is the beginning of a new year!  Why not start out 2011 with a fresh start?  In this blog post, Mr. Rice suggests exactly that! 
He encourages teachers to step back and evaluate certain aspects of their teaching methods.  Some areas he concentrates on consist of:

·         Grading & assessment

·         Assignments & lessons

·         Pedagogy

·         Homework

·         Late work

·         Classroom management/ discipline

·         Standards & main topics

He mentions that when teachers are evaluating these subjects, they need to let go of all assumptions and think for themselves.  People tend to stick to what they are used to, but in education is that really helpful?  What does a teacher need to do to improve these areas in the classroom?

To fix some of these areas, he recommends asking these questions about each topic:

·         What do I do?

·         Why do I do it this way?

·         How well is it working? (he also advises teachers to ask students as well)

·         What are other ways it could be done?

·         What are barriers to change?

·         How can I learn more?

·         What criteria should help me decide?

·         What are my next steps?

Mr. Rice is leaving the rest up to the teacher.  After teachers have taken these steps, what did they learn?  What would they change?  Are they still making rookie mistakes?

I read the following comments.  Most people thanked him for his self-motivated criticism.  One teacher suggested not changing more than two things at a time or it can become overwhelming.  His last comment back stated that he has to push himself to change and he is now an UNgrader.  I had to investigate.

He now practices not giving students’ grades because he feels that "was evaluating student work and passing judgment on it".  This is a very interesting concept that I hope to learn more about.

My responding comment related to both blog posts because I found them both to be very interesting.  I responded from a student’s point of view and mentioned that if teachers do the same routine every year it has to be boring for both the teacher and the student.  Some students feel that teachers who aren’t interested in updating material will be “easy” because if they don’t care enough about what they are teaching why would they care about student responses? However, I have never thought about what it would take to change the way I would teach.  His methods of critical inspection really opened my eyes to the difficulty in changing something that has worked for so long.  I agreed with his statement: students need mentoring and formative feedback, not judgment!  So I asked, how do we make this possible?

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.    

Wordle Project

Blog Post 1

My name is Jessica Brown and I am from central Florida. I grew up on the rivers and springs, not by the ocean, with my parents and my brother, who is 15 months younger than me.  My entire family on both my mother and father’s sides has been from central Florida for over four generations.  

I love Florida, but I felt the need to move away for college.  I had an in state scholarship, so I chose to go to the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida which was the furthest in state school from where I was living.  This actually was the greatest decision I think I have ever made because I learned how to live on my own, the importance of an education, and met the love of my life.

I moved to Alabama August of 2009 with my boyfriend.  He had transferred to the University of South Alabama and finally convinced me to check it out.  I instantly fell in love with this school and I was excited that they were going to have a football team.

Football is a major part of my life; it is not just a game.  Football is the way my parents provided for my family.  My mom works in the school system as a guidance clerk and my dad is a Hall of Fame high school football coach in the state of Florida.  Most people are familiar with the term Army Brat and I like to joke that I am a Football Brat because of his career. 

My parents inspired me to find something I loved to do when I was younger, and I found a passion for cheerleading.  I was a cheerleader for over 15 years, from a high school mascot to a college cheerleader.  I did every kind of cheerleading possible and I taught many people how to cheer over the years. Other interests I have include reading, watching movies, spending time with my dog, fresh water fishing, and yard sale shopping.

My family is the most important thing in the world to me and I value their opinions.  I chose the field of education because it is a part of who I am.  I love to help and teach others as well as motivate people to want to do their best at whatever they are doing. 

I spent most of my summers helping out at the schools getting classrooms ready for the next year and doing summer camps.  During the school year I helped tutor my peers and students from the elementary school.  I found that experience to be extremely rewarding.  I hope to have a career one day in this field; so that I can continue to help others get the best education possible.