"Did You Know 3.0?"
As I first started watching the video, I was shocked by some of the statistics. It's crazy to think how fast the world is changing. The most shocking fact was that soon that half of what you learn your freshmen year of college will completely change by the time you're a junior in college. This fact is almost discouraging, however it simply shows how much research is being done every year and how much knowledge is being gained. Another shocking statistic is that India has more honors kids than America has kids total. This may prove that America is not pushing its children to their fullest potential.
I was also surprised to see that there are only 540,000 words in the English language. Though that is a lot, I was sure there might be more. However, the video did state that this is 5x what was in the English language during Shakespeare's time. At the end of the video, the statistics regarding the number of births in America, China, and India were larger than expected. Their growing population is outrageous.
"Mr. Winkle Wakes"
This video can easily be related to the previous one, "Did You Know 3.0?". So much time has past after Mr. Winkle wakes that he is unfamiliar with all the world's new technology. Just as the previous video proved, technology is changing by the minute. To one unfamiliar with such, this could be somewhat scary, I imagine. In today's world, it may sometimes be harder for the older generations to accept and familiarize themselves with this empowering new technology.
I found it interesting that Mr. Winkle felt comfortable and safe in the classroom because there did not seem to be as many changes there as there were in the office building and hospital. Classroooms everywhere are changing just as fast as the latter. Today, we now have smart boards and other media to educate our children. Teachers are finding new ways to explain different material, and we are no longer limit to simply textbook learning.
Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
As an honors and gifted student, I found this video to be particularly interesting. I agree with the fact that creativity is being supressed in today's classrooms. Not every child learns things the same way, and many yearn to explore things beyond mathematics and language arts lectured in the classroom. Sir Ken Robinson explained that if you are afraid of having the wrong answer, you'll never discover anything original. Because creativity is being supressed today, it can almost be certain that less orginial material is being discovered. What does this say about education in future generations? Scary thought, in my opinion.
The No Child Left Behind Act seems to be a possible contributer to the supressing of creativity. Classes are centered around standardized testing, and therefore, teachers are limited in what they may be able to cover in class. Robinson asks the question, "Why is dance not taught in classrooms?" and compares dance to mathematics. Well, the answer seems simple; You cannot test children on dancing the way that you might test them on mathematics and language arts. In an attempt to improve academics, creativity has been tossed aside.
"Vickie Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts"
The most valuable concept I grasped from the video was the teachers do not have to know EVERYTHING in order to teach. This is relieving. It was interesting to see the students actually teaching the teacher about technology. It is apparent that you are always able to learn something from other people. Davis also allowed the students to teach the class which I thought was very neat because sometimes it is easier to learn from people your own age.
Davis emphasized how she used new terms, and the students were expected to google them if they did not know what they meant. They were in charge of their own learning. They used their own creativity to discover new things and didn't just watch the teacher perform a task and repeat it. It was cool to see how a small rural town in Georgia became connected with people all around the world and even went to the Middle East to attend a conference.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Be careful about statistics. The China and India numbers are large because their populations are so much larger than the United States. Right now 22.3% of the population of China would have to be English speaking to equal the number of people living in the United States. Because the number of people in China is growing much faster than the number of people in the United States, that percentage is dropping and by 2016 the prediction made will most likely be true.
ReplyDeleteThe same is true about your statement "India has more honors kids than America has kids total. This may prove that America is not pushing its children to their fullest potential." First, honor student is defined as the top 25% of the students. Since India has more than 4 times as many students as America, the statement that the number of honor students in India is self-fufilling.
And your last comment: "Their growing population is outrageous." China agrees. One child per couple. Preferably a boy! And that is enforced. In India baby girls "disappear" at an alarming rate.
Every teacher in the College of Education now has access to a smart board. How many of your teachers have used them? What would be your guess as to how many know how to use them?
"Classes are centered around standardized testing ..." Take a look at Mr. Chamberlain's post Praying for Snow Days and don't forget to leave a comment there. You have an ally! And you will get to know Mr. Chamberlain much better this year. He teaches at the Noel Elementary School in Noel, Missouri and is my role model!
And the motto for this class is: "I don't know. Let's find out!" And let's is plural. Sound a bit like Ms. Davis.
Don't forget that most teachers that use smart boards use them like chalk boards or as tv screens. IMO IWB's are not a very good tech investment. Get computers in the hands of students and let them go!
ReplyDelete