Blog Post 2

Did You Know? 3.0
www.youtube.com by Karl Fisch and Scott Mcleod

I found this video very interesting because it highlights how far technology has progressed and how fast improvements can be made and applied. The video is effective because it is able to show the importance of technology through statistics about different aspects of technology. The video repeatedly shows facts about how quickly our present world is changing and highlights the sudden changes in technology.
I believe that while the video had catchy music, cool graphics, and great statistics, the video’s best quality is the case it makes for technology in education. Though the video may not say that technology makes education better, the facts alone cannot be ignored. With how much technology has advanced, we should be making technology more available in classrooms.


Mr. Winkle Wakes
www.youtube.com by Mathew Needleman

Mr. Winkle is an old man who just awoke from a 100 years sleep. He awakes to find that the world he once lived in has made some major changes. Computers and fax machines are now used in offices. Lasers are used in hospitals during surgery, as well as machines that are keeping people alive. In his last visit of the day, he visits a school where a teacher is lecturing the class and only one computer is used in the back of the room. Mr. Winkle was comfortable in the school atmosphere and was glad to see that one thing had not changed.
This video made it clear that our schools are very behind where they should be when it comes to technology. I think that in schools is where modern technology is needed the most. I feel as if students are being cheated by not having access to the technology they need to help them understand things that their teacher cannot teach them.


The Importance of Creativity
www.ted.com by Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Randy Robinson does a great job talking about how schools today do not realize the importance of creativity. Schools today are so caught up in teaching the core subjects such as math, science, and English that they have no time for any kind of art. In his talk, Sir Randy argues that the arts are just as important as any other core subject.
By ignoring the arts in school, students are not allowed to express themselves. I think this plays a big role in a child’s lack of imagination. By allowing the children the freedom of doing art, music, and dance, it allows them to express themselves and also to develop a creative imagination.


Cecelia Gault(Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson
blogs.scholastic.com

As a teacher, I would make sure to recognize that every student learns and expresses themselves creatively differently. I think that the reason why Cecelia seems so educated is because she was able to take part in an encouraging learning environment. I agree with Cecelia’s concerns about the U.S. and her view that the country needs to pick up the pace in terms of education. I think that Cecelia’s conversation with Sir Ken Robinson encouraged her because she was able to see that there are people out there who are pushing for the encouragement of creativity in the classroom. What I can do as a teacher to make sure the students like Cecelia have a good education is to be encouraging, open-minded, and to remember that every student is different.



Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
edutopia.org

Teacher Vicki Davis shows how effective technology in the classroom can be. She not only teaches things on the computer, but through her computer work she teaches literacy and other life skills. Ms. Davis uses her classroom to let her students communicate with other youth across the world through a social network, she teaches the students new computer programs, and also lets her students teach her. Vicki Davis, through her knowledge of technology and how it can help a student learn, has transformed the way her students think about school and problem solving.

I think that Vicki Davis has done a great job of letting the students work on their own and figure out things for themselves by using technology. She has figured out that her students all learn differently and that they can learn even better if they are given the opportunity to learn in different ways. She understands that no student is the same, and she has been awarded for being a creative, original, and understanding teacher.