Blog #2

Dr. Strange had EDM310 read some articles and view many different videos this week that dealt with technology and the classroom.  I would like to comment on each one.

A.  The first assignment was watching a video called "Did you Know?"  It was amazing and really described how fast we are moving with technology.  Today,  we have over a billion internet devices.  We are moving so fast that technology is doubling every two years.  It is projected that by 2013 a computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the human brain.  In a few short decades, by the year 2049,  the computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species combined!

It is truly mind boggling how much things are changing.  I actually found the video kind of startling and it was very hard to comprehend this much change.  Never before in history have we been changing and growing so quickly. We are definitely in a technology revolution!

B.  We also watched a video called "Mr. Winkle Wakes".  It was in comic strip form and Mr. Winkle wakes up after 100 years of slumber to see so many changes in the world.  However, when he goes into a school, it is exactly the same!  There is no new technology, only a dusty computer on a shelf.

The video was definitely a satire and it was making fun of how far behind the school system is when it comes to technology.  I have always felt that the classroom is the last place to get the money and the resources. It always seems like the little children (with no voice) are always the ones who get looked over.  I definitely know that the children in the classroom were the last ones to get air conditioning.  Fifty years after air conditioning was invented, I was still teaching in a non air conditioned classroom!  I must say that computers are very expensive, so there is no wonder that the classrooms are so far behind on technology!

C.  We also watched a video where Sir Ken Robinson talks about creativity in the classroom.  He was a very entertaining fellow who said that schools are killing creativity.  They are just educating kids with intellectual knowledge from the neck up, but we need to rethink the fundamental principles of education.  There are more people who are graduating from school than ever before and we need to remember that intelligence is not just academic ability.  We are creative beings, who have the gift of imagination, and we must never forget that intelligence is very diverse, dynamic, and distinct.

We really are getting too technical to still be teaching our students a bunch of little facts about a bunch of different things.  That really serves them no good in a world that has too much information.  After they have learned the basics, we really need to concentrate on each kids gifts and steer them in the right direction and  let them go!  I really do like the idea of magnet schools and I think it is the school of the future.

D.  We watched a video where a student named Cecelia Gault  interviews Sir Ken Robinson.  It was really cute to see this young girl using technology so well.  She asked him several questions about schools today.  She noted that Sir Ken Robinson believes that schools today need to be teaching creativity, intelligence, and problem solving, so students can make sense of the world around them.

I also believe that in today's world, we need to be teaching children through interactive learning.  There are so many tools in the classroom today and students can explore, design, create, and learn with so many different technologies and hands on activities.

E.  Lastly, we watched a video called "Harness Digital Smarts".  The video shows a very interactive classroom where a teacher is using computers and technology to help her students learn.  The students are exploring and learning by doing a lot of self paced work on computers.  The teacher also notes that there are no absolutely right or wrong answers.  They are all exploring and learning as they go along, even the teacher!

That gives me hope because I feel I will also be doing a lot of learning with my students, as well.   I'm not to proud to say that they might even teach me a thing or two!

I really found all of these assignments to be very interesting and very helpful.  As future teachers, we really need to understand the role and importance that computers and technology will play in the classroom with our   students and their education.