Blogpost #8

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

Dr. Miller’s videos were very interesting. I think it is absolutely amazing how far we have come with technology and how it is starting to be more involved with the academic area. But, like Dr. Miller’s said in his video, we have a long way to go before we are able to fully use technology in the classroom like he, and many others, envision.

I believe that a lot of our problem with integrating technology into the classrooms is the fact that so many people are still against it. I think one of the reasons that people are against it is because they do not realize the full extent in which technology could help students learn. Most people, when they hear the words “technology in the classroom,” they think of students playing games on computers, surfing the web, or just goofing off and not learning anything. In Dr. Miller’s video, you can clearly see that technology is a great tool for learning in many different ways. I think a student learns more when they make presentations on a computer, than when a teacher lectures them. The students have to physically search for information themselves and put forth effort to use the information. They not only learn more, but they have fun doing it too!

I hope that the future will bring more acceptance of the idea of having technology in the classroom because it will take learning to a whole new level. Students will learn how to use technology to not only bring knowledge to themselves, but also how to show the knowledge they have earned. My students will be able to write with multimedia, and they will learn while doing so. Being a technologically literate teacher is so much more than learning how to use a computer and the media on it, it’s about teaching your students how to broaden their horizons and open new doors for themselves through technology.

The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies

Both of these videos were great! I think both summed up the fact that students can send a message about anything through technology. I would love to make some videos about Relay For Life and Colleges Against Cancer. This is where my passion lies and I think I would be able to make a great video to send my message out into the world. I would also like to make some videos about using technology in the classrooms and I would like to focus on how using technology in classrooms, especially in the younger grades, captures the attention of kids a lot more than traditional teaching. I think making any of these videos would be fun, but most of all I want my video to send a message and make a statement!

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This video was amazing. If we had more teachers like these, the education programs in society would be so much better than they are now. I agree whole heartedly with what these teachers said in this video and I definitely want to use the ideas they share in my classroom. In today’s society, kids are constantly surrounded by technology every second of their lives. Almost every child has a computer and TV in their home, some even have their own personal cell phones. Their parents all use technology, to do dishes, to wash clothes, and to cook. Almost every toy on the store’s shelves operates through technology. Technology is a lifestyle for children and yet when they enter the classroom they are told to leave their life at home! Teachers need to learn that to successfully reach students, they must let them bring their life into the classroom. Although some kids do break the rules and abuse technology in the classroom, there are more students who would benefit from teachers who encourage technology use and physically use it to teach in their classrooms. If a student can use technology freely in the classroom, as long as it pertains to school, they would be less likely to abuse it in the long-run. Hopefully in the future, students will be able to bring their lives into the classroom and gain more knowledge in the process.

“The Secret Powers of Time” by Philip Zambardo and “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by David Pink

These two videos were so much fun to watch! I loved watching the drawings come to life on the whiteboard! The videos also said so much that we as future teachers can use in our classrooms. In the first video, what Mr. Zambardo said about kids in today’s society was eye opening! You don’t really think about how much technology kids are exposed to everyday and how much it adds up too in their whole life’s time. When you realize how much technology kids use every day, it’s almost silly how the education system has not integrated more technology than it has. Mr. Pink’s lecture was also very surprising, but after I heard what he had to say, it made sense. People naturally want to do things and create things. We all want to get better at what we do and we all want to be able to do this on our own. After I heard Mr. Pink say this I realized how much sense that makes when I look at myself and all of the other people who do things for free or who are working towards a long-term goal that they have to work hard for, like going to college. Why do we do this? Because we want to get better and we want to improve. Students also want to do this, but many are held back by their teacher. When I become a teacher I am going to let my students do a lot of things on their own. I’m going to just “let them loose” on a task and see what happens. I think what they create will surprise me. I enjoyed both of these videos, but Mr. Pink’s speech really spoke to me. Thanks Dr. Strange!