Friday, June 4, 2010

Did You Know? 3.0
This video was rather disturbing. There wasn't anything about it that I didn't already know, some of the facts were just hard to cope with. American patriotism has always made America to be the country that is on top of the world. I am quite sure that this is what many people think, even despite the grotesque amount of debt that our government owes China. It is quite difficult for me to sit here in Mobile, Alabama, and fathom all the technology that is being used right this very minute all over the world. Amish communities have even integrated technology into their lifestyle to sell their products (Amish jelly is really good). When I learned about the Amish using technology is when I concluded that technology is inevitable and quite inescapable.

However, these are the facts that we have to deal with and they must somehow be embraced. A fact that I thought was funny was about Myspace would be one of the largest countries if it were one. I pondered on this and came to the conclusion that if Myspace were a country, it would be very scary. Why? It would be run by 13 year old girls. Those are my thoughts on Did You Know? 3.0.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
I thought this video was dead on about how schools are today. All through out elementary, middle, and high school there was always a designated time to use the computer. Even in college there are instructors that do not want you to use your computer. I saw a lot of comments arguing that schools are not the same as they used to be, and so on and so on. There are few classes that I have had that were technologically enhanced up until my high school graduation. Computer classes, two of my teachers in high school had smart boards, and I remember playing Oregon Trail in the fourth grade. That is all I can remember, other than typing papers on Word and creating PowerPoints.

The ending to this video should have been that Mr. Winkle could not stand the school either, so he went back to sleep. However, that is not so. This is truly a message to future teachers to liven up our curriculum and do not fear or detest technology in the classroom. Instead of forgetting about the computer, wake up the students and let them use it to showcase their intelligence instead of letting it deteriorate through tests and essays.


Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
This was my favorite video out of all four. Sir Ken is a phenomenal and captivating speaker. What stuck out most in my mind was when he talked about how we place subjects like math and language on a pedestal. I have seen many of my peers get so overworked by these subjects that they fail them and either repeat a grade, or drop out all together. I think that it would be heaven for students if there were more emphasis placed on art, drama, and dance classes. Instead of school feeling like an 8 hour day at prison, it should feel like an exciting place to go not only to learn about math and science but to unlock potential and talent through creativity.

Another awesome point that Sir Ken makes is about ADHD and how it is made to be something that should be controlled with medicine but it really just needs to be channeled through creativity. Where would Broadway be without Gillian Lynne? I don't think that Sir Ken was trying to say that everything in psychology's hefty DSM manual is made up but maybe ADHD is an opportunity, not a disability. Sir Ken is my new teaching inspiration. Kudos, Sir Ken.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts


This was my second favorite video. I admire Vicki Davis in that she a very good relationship with her students. By saying that she has a good relationship, I mean that she can teach her students and they can teach her as well. It is very empowering to a student when they can tell the teacher something new that the teacher doesn't know. Learning together also makes the class more fun and interesting and learning technology creates and endless cycle of learning.

Whenever I get out into the teaching world, I would like to integrate technology into my class. Even though I will be teaching English, I'm sure that there are many things to be blogged about Shakespeare. The main obstacle, however, is privacy controls on school computers. Although if they aren't taken off by then, I'm sure my students will amateur hackers anyway.

5 comments:

  1. Jessica,

    I thought the points you made in your post were great! I never thought about how scary it would be if Myspace became a country, even Facebook in my opinion. I also have noticed that people cannot survive without technology. The Amish in Indiana even shop at Walmart. Although I wouldn't consider Walmart technology, it does include technology, and it simply proves that even the very low maintenance people must succumb to the change happening in the world.

    I am also majoring in English, and I have thought about different ways to incorporate technology in my classroom to enhance creativity. I will definitely have my students blog as a creative writing assignment and ways to showcase their work. I also would like to use Google Earth to go on virtual trips and explore different areas and time periods that my class will read about. You will create a Google Earth project later in the semester. It is so important to challenge our students and encourage them to be creative.

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  2. Jamie Lynn,

    Thank you for commenting on my post. Another thing that I thought would be fun to do for an English Class is to let each student pick an author and have them make a video portraying the author's life or a story that the author has written.

    Also, since reading your comment, I have thought about whether or not Wal-Mart is a technology. Maybe it isn't technology, but it a leech because it is the only place to go to get everything at once... Wal-Mart is out for all the money. It's even taking the Amish people's money.

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  3. Nichole,

    That's a great idea. I will even use that in my class. I also thought it would be fun to let the students act out sections from different plays we are reading. They can put their own twist to the story. Yes, Wal-Mart does take everyone's money. I know several people who simply refuse to shop there. It is crazy how one thing can so greatly affect everyone.

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  4. I loved your post. I also never thought about how scary a myspace country would be. My favorite video was also the importance of creativity. I think that so many teachers forget how they felt when they had to sit through the boring classrooms everyday. School would be so much more enjoyable if there were some variety in the classroom. And as Sir Ken and you also pointed out other issues could be solved through art, dance, and music such as ADHD. All students are not made the same everyone is different so why are we all still being taught the same.

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  5. Another great way for English students to use technology is to have a Skype session with an author. Karl Fisch has lots of examples on his blog. You can also get many good suggestions using Google search.

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