Blog Post #2

Did You Know?

My first response to Did You Know? by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod was complete and utter shock. All I could think to myself after watching the video was WOW. Technology has advanced so much in the last decade and is rapidly progressing. The statistics presented in this video are so amazing that they are hard for me to even believe. Technology has become the driving force of our world. It dictates our jobs, how we interact with people, and even our personal and romantic lives. The world we live in now is no resemblance at all to how it was when my mother was a child. My grandmother would not even know how to turn on a computer, yet alone Google something on the internet.

Technology has become so advanced that for people who are illiterate to it, they are having a much harder time carrying on their everyday life than they would have ten years ago. By the time my daughter is an adult, I cannot even imagine the possibilities of technology. It is evolving at such a rapid rate that a technological device that was created a month ago, will be out of date a year from now. Soon, technological devices will be able to accomplish more and have more capabilities than any human being.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

In Mr. Winkle Wakes, this video gives a different perspective on the changes technology has caused in the world. Mr. Winkle awakes from a 100 year nap where he discovers that technology has taken over hospitals and jobs. Everywhere he turns, he sees unfamiliar devices that he had never seen before. However, Mr. Winkle finds comfort when he returns to a school and finds that every thing is still the same. Teachers were still using traditional methods in order the teach the students.

I find that the video is both right and wrong in how it represents technology in the school. Yes, in a lot of classrooms teachers still use traditional methods, such as writing on a chalkboard and lecturing from a notebook. However, in many classrooms today, teachers are using technology more than ever in order to promote learning. Teachers use methods such a powerpoints, videos and even the advanced Smart Board technology. I believe that technology in the classroom provides a new and exciting method that allows students find interest in the subjects that are being taught. Although it may be looked down upon sometimes because it does not fit into the traditional way of teaching, it is still a very useful and effective tool in helping students to learn. In today's fast growing technological world, it is necessary for technology to be used in the classroom so students will be better prepared for the modern technology that is rapidly changing the world around us.

The Importance of Creativity

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Ken Robinson moving discussion where he touched on many points that I had never even thought of or realized when it comes to education and creativity. He discusses how we live in a world that has a hierarchy when it comes to education. We put mathematics and language at the top of the list and teach our students that if you want to find a job and be successful in the real world, you have to excel in these particular subjects. Arts are at the bottom of this hierarchy and because of this, students begin to see arts as an unimportant component of education. As a consequence, children often suppress their creativity and originality because we have drilled into their heads the thought that they didn't need to study music because they'd never be a musician or that they didn't need to study dance because they wouldn't have a career as a dancer. However, over time the world has changed and these ideas are not as true as they once were.

Mr. Robinson also discusses the ways in which we view intelligence. People often have this simple minded view of how smart someone is by how well they excel academically. Mr. Robinson points out that intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and distinct. One person's intelligence can not be compared to that of another. We are all intelligent in different ways. If I excel in academic subjects such as math and science, but my friend is one of the most talented young artists, does that mean I am "smarter" than her? The world has to open its mind to different possibilities and change the foundations of what we have built education on.

Mr. Robinson mentions Gillian Lynne in his discussion, who is one of the most successful choreographers of Broadway musicals. When Lynne was a child, teachers thought that she might have a condition such as ADD or ADHD because she could never sit still during class. However, Lynne's doctor realized that she was a dancer, and just needed an outlet for her to release her passion and creativity. This is so true of many students today. Children excel in so many different ways and for our education system to deem the areas they excel in as unimportant, can be crippling for that child in the future. This video reminds me so much of what we have been discussing in my EDU 301 class, Arts in the Elementary School. We talk about how it is important to incorporate arts into learning because it provides a new way for children to view subjects. It also allows them to utilize their creativity and to relate to the subject in a whole new way. If we provide students a new way of learning through the arts and allow them to express their originality and creativity, who knows what doors can be opened and how successful that child could be in the future.

Cecilia Gault

Cecilia Gault's article and video introduces several interesting points about students in the U.S. A lot of the time our country likes to think that we are the most advanced country in the world but in many ways, we are so behind. One of the reasons that I believe the students in the United States are falling behind is because we have a lazy lifestyle. Many kids today do not use the resources that are provided to us and we don't put in effort. Gault interviews Mr. Ken Robinson, who states that education should find a better balance between science and art and should also find better use of technology.

Robinson also mentions the three myths of creativity. I completely agree with this because personally, I was one of those students who thought that I was born with no creativity and that there was nothing I could do about it. I was so stuck in that mindset that I never put forth any effort when it came to subjects that required me to use my creativity and originality. However, Robinson suggests that creativity is in everyone and that people can be taught to be creative. When I do become a teacher, it will be important for me to challenge my students to unleash their creativity. There is no right or wrong when it comes to originality and students should understand that when they are young. I believe that when students become more comfortable with their own talents and what they are able to do, they will receive a more valuable education and be more open to learning.


Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis is an extraordinary teacher who sheds a new light on ways to learn in the classroom. In the video Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts, Davis uses technology to provide her students with a different perspective on how to learn. She allows students to use different technological software and pays close attention to each individual student and how they learn. Davis stresses that different students learn different ways. It is important for teachers to embrace this and try to mold their classroom to the needs and interests of their students. Davis points out that if there's only pencil and paper then every student will not learn.

Davis also makes a great point in the video when she says that many teachers feel "they must know it all to teach it." Davis believes this is not true and I agree. The world is changing so fast and it is completely impossible to know EVERYTHING! And why would us as teachers want to? Teaching should be a learning experience for both the teacher and the student. We may be able to teach a child the fundamentals of a subject, but in return a student can teach us so much about life and experiences that we may have never known. We never stop learning, so therefore we can never know it all!