Thinking about everything I saw actually scares me. I can’t really wrap my mind around how technologically advanced our world has become in such a short time and it makes me wonder what will become of humans years down the road. If we create computers that are more intelligent than us, what’s stopping the computers from destroying us? But I think that is just my imagination running wild!
Although thinking too far into the future worries me, I am also thrilled about how much we are progressing and that we are able to bring technology into the classrooms now. I believe that children should learn how to operate technology in their classrooms, not only because it is a vital part of our society today, but also because it makes learning more fun and it gets kid’s attention more easily than standing in front of them and lecturing. This video was very interesting and it opened my eyes up to how far we have come in history. Hopefully we will be able to put all of this technology to good use and keep it that way in the future.
2. “Mr. Winkle Wakes”: I just couldn’t help but giggle when I watched “Mr. Winkle Wakes" by Mathew Needleman, because of the image of the little old man. The video was a very cute way of showing how much our world has changed in 100 years. It makes me wonder how a person who was alive 100 years ago would actually feel if they swathe world today!
I did not expect the video to end the way it did though. I expected him to go into the school and be just as surprised about how much it has changed as well, but the video actually showed how some schools are still just as technologically illiterate as they were 100 years ago! In my opinion this is horrible. Schools today should all be able to have technology in every classroom and be able to easily access it. Technology is all around us in this time and what better way to teach young people about than to put it in school where they spend hours a day.
3. Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity: I really enjoyed listening to Sir Ken Robison talk and I passionately agree with everything he said in this video. I believe that humans are naturally creative and that we instinctively use things around us in our environment to make not only useful things, but also beautiful and wondrous things.
Schools are made to form children into good citizens who understand everything that they need to know to function in the society they live in, and to also know things that they need to get a job and become a working individual that helps promote society growth. While a child is in school they are taught that being “different” is bad and that you have to act like everyone else to be considered normal and a “good” kid, but while this does help teachers control their students, it also makes a child believe that they have to do everything that everyone else does to be a good person. This form of schooling hinders creativity in a child and possibly snuffs it out altogether.
I believe that every child should be allowed to try every form of the arts and learn what each one involves, that way if a child happens to have a talent in a certain art, they can begin to practice with it every day and make it apart of their life. By just sitting with a group of young children you can physically see how creative they are by nature, but unfortunately by the time they are out of elementary school, they have lost that chance to harness their particular talent and use it to create something amazing. Schools need to reform their curriculum to allow children to learn the arts as well as their normal studies because it will not only make school much more fun, it will also allow students to find their creative side and possibly use it to make a huge impact on our world.
4. Cecelia Gault (Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson): Reading about Cecelia and watching her interview was quite interesting. For being so young, Cecelia seems to have education figured out! When I have students in my classrooms that are like Cecelia I am going to do everything I can to expose them to all of the arts and to continue to let their talents thrive. I think it is absolutely wonderful when a child has a passion for something and is able to do something extracurricular with it. I think that parents play a big role in helping their children discover a passion for the arts, so I will try my hardest to become a team with all of my student’s parents to allow for further promotion of arts in my classroom. I will also make sure that when I start teaching I will tie the arts into everything that I teach so there can be more Cecelia Gaults in my classes!
5. Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts: This video was interesting and made me realize how important technology in the classroom truly is. Even though this class lived in a very rural area, they were still able to connect with the outside world, even if it was just the school in the county next to them or if it was all the way across the world in a foreign country! I think it is great how Vicki Davis was able to open the doors for her students and show them so many different things that they normally wouldn’t be able to see if they were in a classroom that did not have technology.
I hope to be able to bring technology into my classrooms when I become a teacher because I think it is such a great tool to use. Allowing kids to connect to other students in different parts of the world helps them to broaden their education in many different ways. It also lets them see what other cultures are like and it helps them to be able to experience the world without even leaving their classrooms. Students are almost able to “travel” to a different world when using technology and experience things that they never would have been able to if they did not have access to technology. Every school should be able to have access to things that are like what was shown in this video. I think it will help our whole world if we can make it happen.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that you were surprised by the ending of Mr. Winkle Wakes. While some of our schools are changed, the majority of them have not. There are numerous school that do not have access to technology, and then there are others that do have access but choose not to use the resources available. While the funding does have some impact on the availability of technology, the school's mindset plays a huge role in it. It appears that we do not value education like other countries, but instead, we are consumed with athletics and material things. I think it is a shame that the schools are like this, and the students definitely are at a disadvantage.
After watching Vicki Davis, I know you see the importance of technology. She had to fight to get her classroom the way it is now. What are you going to do if you don't have access to technology, and are you going to be willing to fight against the system?
Sir Ken Robinson: "Schools need to reform their curriculum..." I completely agree with you, school do need to change their curriculum so that the arts are considered just as important as math or science. Unfortunately, I feel most schools are teaching to the test such as the graduation exams now days. We as a teachers can be creative and incorporate the arts in our classrooms to allow kids to have this exposure even if the system does not change.
ReplyDeleteVicki Davis: "Students are almost able to “travel” to a different world..." I had not even thought of it this way, but that is so true! Now I want to even more use technology in my classroom. I have never traveled any further than the southeast USA. It would be so cool for my students and I to learn about other parts of the world together!