Blog Post #4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor in the Education Administration Program at Iowa State University. He is known as one of the nation's leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues. In his blog post "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?" he amusingly makes some very good points. I really liked that he wrote about the dangers of technology. It is true, technology can take people down some pretty dangerous routes. This usually happens to people who have not been taught how to use technology effectively. As future teachers we should do just that... teach our students how to use it effectively.

We can warn our children/students about the dangers of technology, and do the best we can to protect them from it. Keeping them from it is a different story. Technology is growing at outrageous speeds, and our children will need to know how to use it in the future. If we do not start teaching them now they will be that much more behind. There are ways to teach our children/students how to use technology in a safe and smart manner. As teachers, we should be aware of how to do this and we should DO IT! We should not use danger as an excuse for not properly preparing these children for their future.

The iSchool Initiative
Travis made a wonderful video. He portrayed his point very well! I think he has some very interesting ideas that could be very beneficial to the school system. The part about saving money and saving our "precious resources" was definitely a plus. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. Being able to stay organized, find information, explore the world maps and the universe with just a touch of your finger is a cool concept. I think if people could learn to use this system effectively it could work.

I do have one problem with the iSchool program. It might be just a personal problem, but I do not like the idea of NO school books, and NO pencils and paper. Although I think technology is an important thing to incorporate into the schools, I do not think that it should be the only way students know how to learn. There is nothing wrong with a little book-reading, and hand-written assignments. Maybe I am a little old school, but I do appreciate these things. I think all students should be able to navigate their way through an actual book, not just the internet. With that being said, I do think that a lot of Travis' ideas are interesting and worth looking into. It was a good video!

You Can't Be My Teacher
Wow! This was a very inspirational video. To see how important technology is to this little boy was amazing me to me. He is so young and probably knows more about technology, and the internet than most adults. Most of all, he is INTERESTED. He is asking questions and he WANTS to be involved. He WANTS to learn more from the internet. This shows how much technology can get students involved in their learning.

He asks in the video "Are you going to make me sit at a desk?" This really made me think. When I was his age I did not have a choice. There were not enough technological advances to even have the option of learning any other way. He does not want to sit at a desk! This little boy recognizes the importance of technology in the classroom. He realizes that you can not be an effective teacher without being technologically literate. He said in the video "It's your job!" He is absolutely right. As teachers it is our job to keep learning and expanding our views so that we can effectively teach our students.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
I did not even know something like this was possible! That was truly amazing. Putting 185 people who have never met together like that on the internet and creating this could not have been an easy task. This just proves how much you can do with technology and how much it is advancing.

Being able to do things like this can be very beneficial. At the same time, I have to question one thing. Part of the experience of participating in things like choir is the social aspect. I would just like to know if this detracts from that any. It might not be the case in this video, but sometimes people hide behind technology to avoid face-to-face social interaction with other people. Knowing how to act in social situations is an important part of learning, and I do not think that people should exclude this from their lives just because they can.

Teaching In The 21st Century
I like that this video says that teachers are now "filters". It is true that students can learn anything at anytime. I think it is very important for teachers to realize that we have to show these children how to use this information. Also, just as important, to be able to find accurate and reliable information. We have to show them how to incorporate the knowledge they find with problem solving skills, and critical thinking.

The video asks the question "should our curriculum be focused on facts and content, or skills?" Personally, I do not think that we have to choose. I think that proficient teachers can develop a learning style that focuses on both. It is hard to be skillful at something without knowing facts behind it. It is our job to guide them towards these facts, that they may or may not find through the use of technology, and help them make use of them with problem solving and critical thinking skills. When they are taught how to find reliable information from technology and use it in proficient ways, their learning will be endless.