Blog Assignment 4

Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?

This is an interesting poem on Dr. McLeod's website, dangerously ! irrelevant. Dr. McLeod is an accomplished associate professor who specializes in developing technology courses for education professionals. He addresses the need to let children explore and develop their computer and networking skills. His poses a thought about what will happen if he allows his children take advantage of the new computer age and you do not?

It makes you think you may be holding your children back from being competitive in the new age if you do not allow your children to do the same. I agree. We must not hold our children back from learning. We should stay involved in their technological learning and networking so we can monitor and guide them. We must not assume the worst every time a child gets on the computer, just like when we let them go play in the neighborhood with their friends. We must teach them and trust them to use their good judgment.

The iSchool Initiative

In this You Tube video, Travis Allen, a seventeen year old high school student, believes he has the answer to the budget cuts that are taking place at his school and around the country. He believes each student should have an IPod Touch because the apps and technology available to its users will eliminate the need for copiers, maps, paper, pen, calculators and other items that a school uses every day.

Travis states that the current public school system is broken. We can see and hear these same concerns about our public school system on television, on the radio and on the internet. I applaud Travis who is trying to give good answers to these concerns. I believe taking action with some new initiatives is a step in the right direction. We will learn what works and does not work with new initiatives like this one in our schools. We will be closer to the new education reform that everyone is asking for if we are only willing to try some new things. Try this in one school and something else creative in another. What are we afraid of?

The Lost Generation

I enjoyed watching this video, which had a very creative ending. I would have never thought you could write a statement, then read the statement backwards and it would still be relevant to your first message. Very amazing, obviously, AARP thought so as well. It looks as though the video had their endorsement.

I am impressed the author placed a high importance on family life. Our society places such an importance on self, which can be very good at times. However, I think the message of family could be highlighted more in our media. Being in a family teaches us that we do not always need to put our needs first to be our best selves. In fact, we can learn love, humility and self-control by putting others needs first.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

I do not know exactly why, but of all the video's I have watched this semester, this one seems to be one of the most stunning. I will want to share it with other people. In a weak effort to try to describe why, maybe the first thing that comes to my mind is I feel like I am witnessing an authentic virtual experience. The sheer logistics of the whole thing seems enormous. Which reminds me once again, this exact choir may be able unable to be duplicated in real time due to scheduling conflicts of its participants.

Teaching in the 21st Century

I agree with the positions expressed in this video. I particularly liked the idea of using new technology to teach students how to gather and use information to solve their everyday problems. I agree with the author that as teachers we should work to create lessons that engage our students. Engagement will lead to more learning than mere entertainment. I look forward to creating lessons that will be engaging, original and useful.