It is always interesting to me to read and hear about interesting facts. Both videos were interesting to watch, however, they were not as enjoyable the second time through. It seems plausible that 25% of the population of India with the highest IQ's out number the entire population of the U.S. However, it seems that whoever wrote this fact wants you to believe that India's population is incredibly smart. But if you think about it, 25% of the population of India with the lowest IQ's also out number the entire population of the United States. The India and China facts got a little redundant because the population of each country is ridiculously high. I was interested to hear that 48 hours of videos are uploaded to Youtube every second. And lastly, it was interesting to hear that so many students have computers in their houses. But I wonder, how many of those students have high speed internet?
I'm curious to why Dr. Strange made a 'did you know' video because it seems that his video contained a lot of information from the original. I enjoyed the original video better because the facts were more interesting and it appears that a lot more time went into it. However, the background music was enjoyable from Dr. Strange's video. It seems like this would be a great assignment for students to work on researching and practice making enjoyable Youtube videos.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
My first question is, why is Mr.Winkle wearing that outfit?
Outfit worn around 100 years ago
Mr. Winkle
Well anyway, the video does make a good point of the school systems being behind in technology. However, Mr. Winkle must not have seen the overhead projector or heard the intercom system which are at least in the schools without smart boards and other high tech teaching tools. Teaching has come a long way since 1912. Yes, there may still be hard copy text books and students still going to class as opposed to a virtual class, but learning is still taking place. I think it is wise to use whatever material that is best for the class. If high technology tools are more useful and produce better results, then I say we use high tech things.
It is very beneficial to have as much technological utensils as we do, but what about the rest of the world? Don't those children in poverty stricken areas deserve computers? Shouldn't they have the opportunity to talk to children across the world through Skype? I think money should be given to other poor countries so that those students have a chance to catch up to where we are now. There's plenty of money that can be spent on better things. The only thing stopping the good is the greed. Don't feed the greed!
Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity
I absolutely loved this video! Ken Robinson brings so much interest by his knowledge and especially by his humor. In his talk, he says that there is a great deal of potential in children that school kills. I believe that this is very much true. I know a teacher that says that almost everything she teaches is controlled by district. She says that they have to teach subjects in a certain order and in a certain way. What's the point of having teachers? Aren't teachers supposed to be known for their creativity? Since the teachers can't be creative in their way of teaching, how will students ever grow to their potential?
Another good saying of Mr. Robinson is, "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original". I can't even remember the last time it was okay for me to do something wrong. I was taught to do things in a certain way and any other way of getting the desired result was wrong or unacceptable. I'm very sad to see the school system of the United States. The people who are never in the class rooms are making the objectives and telling teachers what to do and what not to do. When will we see the light at the end of the tunnel?
If children are going to school training to be professors and there's an academic inflation, where are the job opportunities? Luck and connections? What is there to do? We must take a stand and bring education to education.
A Vision for 21st Century Learning
Some of the main points in this video are that students are learning facts out of context, reading from text books, and that students are passive through out class. Their solution to these problems is video games! Go through a 3D game of a place, learn the language, and learn about the culture of the time.
First, I would like to say that my teachers did not just lecture in front of us all day as we sat passive the whole time. Also, why are they saying that text books are bad? Are they saying that reading is bad? Isn't it the quality of the text book that makes it constructive or destructive? I think that their idea could be a constructive way to learn, but it doesn't solve all of life's problems. Mentally, this could be a great idea ,but physically, this could be a disaster. Is it healthy to stare at a monitor hours at a time every single day? Will every job in the future require the employees to use the most advance technology? Plus, one has to consider the time children are spending watching T.V., playing video games, and surfing the web at home. No wonder children are becoming obese! I believe that there are other fun techniques to learning that don't require a child to sit in front of a computer all day in class.
Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students Digital Smarts
Ms. Davis seems to have good ideas of teaching her students about new technology and software. It is interesting to see how a teacher in a rural town in Georgia can be so well connected with the world and new technology. The children in her class seemed to enjoy what she was teaching as well. I'm still not sure how she does all these new activities and still follows the curriculum.
I still don't understand why making avatars and learning all these new software programs is beneficial for all the students. It seems like it's teaching a certain way that will not be beneficial to all the students. For instance, Gillian Lynn (choreographer of Cats) couldn't sit still because she had to move in order to learn. What about those children? Are we expecting children with learning disorders to be able to sit down at a computer and be able to take it all in?
Ms. Davis' idea for children is good for part of the student body, but there needs to be more options for the other children.
Hi Eva, I really love your blog post. It was both useful and interesting to me. Reading your blog post gave me the chance to get a different point of view from the same videos. What I love the most, is that you were candid about your opinion of the videos. I felt that I shared my opinion honestly in my blog post, but when I did not understand or like something I really did not mention it at all. For example, I did wonder why Dr. Strange made the Did You Know video,but I a did not question it in my blog post. The picture that you have of the dress code for Mr. Winkle's time period is cool. You really took the time to make your blog post interesting.I agree, teaching has come a long way since 1912. Most of the schools in Jackson County Mississippi, where I live, have smart boards computer labs, and they even have computers in the classroom.I loved the video of Ken Robinson the most because that subject is close to my heart. I do believe that Education as a whole is squashing creativity. I hope we can have a part in changing this. I really appreciate your honest opinions in your blog post. I hope I can make my future posts as interesting as you have done. Thanks for the learning experience!
ReplyDeleteHey, Stephanie! Wow! I didn't expect that great of a comment
ReplyDelete: ) I hope that if you find something that I could work on that you would tell me. Don't hold anything back. I'm glad that you enjoyed my post! Hope to hear from you soon.
Wonderful! You understood the statistics from India. Many (and I do mean many) of your fellow students thought it proved that the citizens of India were smarter than the US population, or that we were not doing enough to educate our citizens.
ReplyDelete"I'm curious to why Dr. Strange made a 'did you know' video because it seems that his video contained a lot of information from the original." Well, I got tired of writing something like this: No. It is a matter of population size. You could say that the 25% of the population in India with the biggest ears outnumbers ALL of the people in the United States with two ears. So I tried to get people to think before they reached that conclusion. I guess I failed. At least in far too many instances.
"...but learning is still taking place." Sometimes I wonder when I read what juniors in college write in their blog posts! You may find this out for yourself this semester when you read other blogs.
"Don't those children in poverty stricken areas deserve computers? Shouldn't they have the opportunity to talk to children across the world through Skype?" Did you see the ownership rate of computers and cell phones in the United states? few are totally left out! Next month Nigeria will implement a new educational system for all their kids. It will be entirely based on the use of technology (computers, iPads, ebooks, the internet, etc. instead of pencil and paper).
"There's plenty of money that can be spent on better things." NO NEW TAXES. NO NEW TAXES (unless they go to build football stadiums).
Oh, you did mention greed!
"I know a teacher that says that almost everything she teaches is controlled by district. She says that they have to teach subjects in a certain order and in a certain way. What's the point of having teachers?" So why are you entering the education profession?
"If children are going to school training to be professors and there's an academic inflation, where are the job opportunities? Luck and connections? What is there to do? We must take a stand and bring education to education." I don't understand what you are trying to say here. What is "academic inflation"? What is meant by "bring education to education"?
"Ms. Davis seems to have good ideas of teaching her students about new technology and software." I don't that is what ms. davis is teaching her students. I would argue that she is teaching her students to use the most powerful tools available to engage in self-directed learning about subject matter that schools deem important) and to communicate with people all over the world.
An important question: How can teachers 9and schools) address the wide variety of educational needs and styles in today's classrooms.
"Are we expecting children with learning disorders to be able to sit down at a computer and be able to take it all in?" Unfortunately, yes. However, in some cases, the technology really helps. In other cases it does not. Since we now teach all students together (for the most part) we have many challenges to address.
Dr. Strange, thank you so much for your comment. I appreciate you telling me about the good new for Nigeria. So good to see! As far as the question of why I'm going into education, I still have hope. I love teaching and love being around children. I put those two together and found a career.
ReplyDeleteI got the term 'academic inflation' when I watched Ken Robinson's video. Just as the dollar bill loses value in inflation so does a degree in current times and times to come. I was a little confused with Ms. Davis' video. I wasn't exactly sure what she was teaching, but now I know.
This is a awesome presentation about Mr. Winkle, after reading your information.
ReplyDeleteI think all students should know that technology and classes has changed within the last Hundred years and will contuine to improved as years goes by.