Blog Post 5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He also is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens).
Dr. McLeod sarcasm had me kind of confused the first time I read his post. We all know the dangers of having the ability to be connected to many people and websites. Pornography and predators are out there in the cyber-world. Students do get distracted with online chatting, twitter, facebook, and viewing blogs that have nothing to do with education. But we cannot let these things stray us away from learning the great benefits that come with being technology literate. For our students to even be considered for a job, let me take that back, for a career you need to be technology literate. We will be doing a disservice if we do not teach our students the basic skills on a computer. With the world rapidly changing as the technology changes, we need to prepare our students to have a fighting chance in a world surrounded with technology. This is not the United States it was 30 years ago. The manufacturing jobs are being outsourced so the top jobs need people who can work with computers and new technology. Technology is not the end all be all but it is so important people are starting to forget the times when we did not have it. Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff

The iSchool Initiative by Travis Allen



Travis Allen argument is schools should do away with the pen and paper way of teaching our students and that we should use modern technology like the iPod touch or iPad. He launched the iSchool Initiative to bring more innovation to school. He also says we can lower cost of providing materials to students because everything you need is in the iPad and iPod Touch from note taking to looking up formulas. He says this will cost an iSchool 150 dollars per student.
Travis Allen makes very good points and if his numbers are correct this will be a way of saving money in a time of recession. I know when I was in school I hated carrying all my textbooks and notebooks in one backpack. Studies have shown that carrying all you school books in one backpack can cause damage to your back, so why not give every student and iPad or iPod Touch. This will bring a new energy to students to learn and stay engaged with access to the internet for clarification on certain topics. Also the kids who do not have the means to buy their own iPod Touch will be motivated to come to school because they get to use modern technology.



Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
Watching this video all I can say is WOW! The internet has become so powerful over the past 30 years. Putting together a choir full of people who do not even know each other is impossible without the internet. Eric Whitacre is a pure genius with this great work of art. You can achieve so much through the world wide web.

Teaching in the 21st Century
Teaching is has changed significantly in the 21st century. Kevin Roberts thinks teaching in the 21st century means to engage your student and not just entertain. One way to keep your students engaged is to keep them active, not just with handouts or writing notes. Active engagement is using new methods your students have not done or enjoy. Encourage students to use the internet to explore the answers the questions or problems they do not understand. While we encourage them to explore, we should also teach them how to explore and find credible sources. The more we keep our students curious the more they will be engaged, that is active learning. This video should motivate educators to strive to do better everyday for our students. This will effect me as an educator because this video reinforces the conversation on innovation in the classroom. The more we innovate and inspire creativity our students will be at an advantage. We should move towards the top of bloom's taxonomy to evaluate, analyze, and apply. Focusing on the top half of bloom's taxonomy will prepare our students for college.