Blog Post #2

Did You Know?
I can honestly say I did not know most of the things that were presented to me in this video. I did know that technology was progressing but I guess I really never knew how fast. Now that I think about it in the early nineties when I was a child my mother like most other adults had a pager. Cellular phones where basically for business use. My mom's first portable phone was a car phone and they are not even widely distributed anymore. As a child I myself wanted to invent a phone that had a radio inside of it. I thought it was a pipe dream, but a few years later cell phones had FM radio capabilities. Now that I really think about it I guess I did know technology was progressing so quickly.
I also find it interesting that the United States isn't as big as Americans make it seem. The fact that China and India has more honor students than we have student is very scary to me. It makes me think how the United States will remain a super power when we are being passed by nations who are not thought to be as strong and smart as we are. Knowing that many of China's population speaks English makes me wonder why are we as Americans not learning Chinese because it seems obvious that they will surpass our nation in every aspect from currency to education. America really needs to make the effort to keep up with our ever changing world so that in five years we will not be left behind.


Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes is a great representation of how technology has changed while education and teaching methods have stayed the same. We have made technology so much of our everyday life but we have kept it from the schools. Having one or two computers in a classroom does not help children learn how to use technology if they are not being used. Even in the computer classes offered in high schools typing is the only thing taught. Children need to know more about computers than just Microsoft Office. Technology is always changing and one of the fist places it should be taught is in schools to the future of the world.
Just like learning about the new technology that could be used to save a person's life is important for a doctor to know about a child should be learning how to use the technology that they will inevitably be using in there everyday life. We are keeping our children behind in the world because we are not teaching them everything they need to know for them to be efficient in the world. I think all future educators should watch this video so that they can change the way they intend to teach their class.


Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
Mr. Robinson's speech about creativity was very interesting. I do believe that it is important to offer more than one method of teaching because students do learn different. However, I am a realist and I understand how it would be hard for school systems to incorporate many different ways of teaching. That would mean having a triple major almost in college for secondary education majors like myself. There would have to also be qualified professors to teach this new way of teaching children who learn differently. I believe that all of the responsibility should not fall onto the schools for making sure creativity is not being taken away. Parents should try to figure out how their child learns by watching their study habits and encouraging them to stick with what helps them the most.
If both parents and teachers made sure the child is getting a well rounded education there would be no issue over creativity in the schools today.


Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
I was a little confused about what kind of class Mrs. Davis was teaching at first honestly. If she is teaching a computer class then I think it is a very bright idea to teach her students HTML and computer programming skills. So many high school computer programs focus on typing skills rather than the other skills that would help a student get a good job in today's society. I also found it to be a good idea to let the students teach the class. It is very boring listening to a teacher lecture all the time. I personally feel that students listen more when a peer is talking and they have a chance to interact with the lesson.
On the other hand if Mrs. Davis is teaching a regular class then she is focusing too much on computer literacy that one way of learning. Students learn differently and it is just as bad to teach only through technology as it is through pencil and paper lectures. She has a very good concept and is trying to keep her students in touch with the world around them and the role technology places in it.