Blog Post Assignment #2

Did You Know? Researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman and remixed. In this video, the researchers make a slideshow about different pieces of information such as the amount of users on Myspace (over 200 million) or how much technology has changed and will change. It's pretty interesting how nineteen years ago, in 1992, the first text message was sent; and now people send enough text messages to equal over the amount of people on this planet. Also, the fact that we now have so many fields to go into that weren't around four or five years ago, and so many different types of jobs are STILL surfacing in any category you could ever imagine. There are classes for jobs that don't even exist yet. Jobs that exist now, those weren't around in 2004. Technology and computer information majors will be studying outdated technologies in their third year of studying in the next ten, or less, years. It's amazing how much we have yet to discover about science and developing technology, and we haven't even tipped the iceberg on half of it yet. 


Near the end of the presentation when it starts going into what's happening around the world and in our own United States, it was actually jaw-dropping to see how many babies are born in a matter four or five minutes; hundreds born all over the world in places like China and Japan and Africa. And not only that, but also in the middle part when the presentation said that in the first few years after students graduate, we'll have had between sixteen to thirty-eight jobs before we actually get to a job we keep. One thing that really caught my eye was the fact that India has more honor students than America, and also has the leading number of people with higher I.Q.'s than the rest of the world. This is so sad because we have the means to be smarter and educate our future generations to be smarter, but so many people out there are lazy or just don't care; and that means the parents don't care, or they just think their kids are going to homework and study without being asked to. Add to that, the fact that China will soon be the number one English speaking country in the world; that's a great a achievement for a foreign country, however America should be on top of that list. Yes we're the "melting pot" of different cultures and ethnicities, but we should ALL be able to speak English fluently. All in all, 'Did You Know?' was a complete eye opener for our world and seeing it just astounded me. As this presentation showed, technology and people will keep changing forever, and we just have to keep up with it.




Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman


I think this video shows how much schools and public places have changed over time. Mr. Winkle was around one hundred years ago when everything was read and the postman delivered your mail, there were no eBooks or e-mail or internet. He awoke into a century of video chat and up to date surgical procedures. But as he went looking around he found schools haven't changed too much. And he really liked school for that reason.


When Mr. Winkle went to a classroom, he discovered teachers still taught students with books and lectures and classwork. Everything was really the same as it was before, just a few ways of life had been tweaked and made into something new. there are many schools around the world now that use computers to teach kids and help them with certain subjects. But some schools still teach the old fashion way and use books, library research, and interviewing family members and friends about what life was like back in the day. Personally, I like the fact some schools use technology, but it is good for students to know how to look up pieces of information from a book, because technology doesn't always work when it is most needed.




How School Kills Creativity by Ken Robinson


I completely agree with Mr. Robinson; he brings up so many good points and makes you really think about ho much schools want to reinforce using the brain, and less using the body and imagination. He talks about how young students are being stuffed with information and are like little robots that spit it back to the teacher when asked to do so. But educators rarely ever asks a child what they think or how they would do something differently. And he says "we would all be amazed at kids will give us for answers, because they are so artistic and don't have the mind set we do". 


One of the best points he brings up is that if a young student isn't paying attention in class for a large part of the time, it isn't because they have some sort of mental disorder. A child wants to have hands on experiences in class and do what they love. For example, Mr. Robinson talks about a child who loves to dance and her parents think something is wrong with her since that is all she wants to do. Someone observing her said "she is a dancer, you need to put her in a dance school right away, not a regular school". We don't realize how much impact schools can have on a child, especially when educators do not allow their students' young minds to bloom into something even better than just a pile of information. 







Cecelia Gault: Interview with Ken Robinson


I think Cecelia had the right idea going to Robinson for advice on what he think about the arts and sciences. Her questions were well thought out, and it's actually really good for her to be so concerned with education and the right to keep arts in the school. To make sure the Cecelia Gault's in my classroom get their well deserved education, I will keep the arts in my classroom and also make sure the kids have fun. It's not fair to say only certain kids are creative, because Robinson is right "everyone is creative in their own way". I will also make sure that their opinions get heard and that ideas are shared and considered for future activities, instead of dismissing their ideas and only doing what I think is right.





Vicki Daivs: Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts


I really liked this video, and all of Ms. Davis's wonderful ideas to get her students interacting with other students around the world and also really getting them into blogging and making sites for different reasons. The virtual world for the students was pretty cool and I like how they combined all their ideas into one. Another interesting part was the students' podcasts to get other students from around the world interested in this program. It is just so strange to think that these young students have so much more technological abilities and can easily connect with students halfway across the world. 


In my personal opinion, It is excellent that these kids are able to get into all different kinds of technology and really learn how to use them. Ms. Davis is a truly amazing teacher who knows how to teach the students and also be a role model for other students to want to learn how to do these things. I really like how they all have different blogs and are solely responsible for their own blogs. And the fact that students in the Middle East joined in and they can communicate with each just by travelling or over a video chat and work together is really neat! This is a truly good video, and the Vicki Davis is a one of a kind teacher.