Blog Post #2

Did You Know? 3.0-A John Strange 2012 Version
  Did You Know? Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and with revisions from Dr. Strange, they've successfully given us heavy insight on statistics around the world and what we, as future educators have to look forward to in the future. The video was encouraging and somewhat discouraging, raising a few eyebrows as it rolled along. It's first fact about India and how their IQ's are easily outnumbering ours, is kind of embarrassing but yet gives you motivation that you can possibly help make a difference in the near future. Either India is a country filled with super geniuses or our citizens aren't buying into the fact that we can definitely do better. On the language aspect, I do understand that the Chinese have a larger population than us but having more Chinese people know our native language than the natives who live in the U.S. is absolutely astounding. This could affect a ton of things in the near future like jobs, marketing, etc.
  The second half of the video is very much more encouraging in my eyes. With the millions of YouTube videos being watched every minute, the millions of Google searches per minute, and the amount of text messages being sent per minute and daily, it shows me that the generation that I will have to educate will be much more technology literate, and that it may be time for a change from traditional ways of educating like books and papers to more of a web based approach. Stats show that the majority of people have computers and they also show that they use them. The video asks, "What is your role?" I see our role as putting ourselves into positions to, and teaching the ways that make it easier for our students to get the jobs of the future.

  Mr. Winkle Wakes
  In this video Mr.Winkle Wakes Matthew Needleman really makes you think and basically reveals that the same things from 100 years ago still takes place in most schools. Mr. Winkle wakes after his 100 year nap and starts to travel around and take in the world that is happening today. Mr. Winkle is overwhelmed by the technology that is in use at businesses and hospitals. He finally finds a place that is comforting to him and that is at a basic school. It is instantly familiar and traditional with the way he is used to doing things, even 100 years later.
   After watching this video, it has left me with this strong impression; We are taking away from the students. With all the technology in use in the adult and business world, we still choose to approach education the same way we did 100 years ago when this technology wasn't available. It seems like education is resisting innovation and especially technology. As educators, I thought we were supposed to be grooming our students to be successful once they were out of our hands. Now, my thoughts lean towards the fact that we are limiting their abilities. There has to be a change in the way things are being done.

  The Importance of Creativity
  Sir Ken Robinson in the video The Importance of Creativity strongly believes that all kids have talent and that sometimes this talent is narrowed and stripped away from them. After watching this video and hearing him argue these factors, I honestly couldn't agree with him more on every one of them. Educators are basically teaching kids blindly with unpredictability about the future. He believes that creativity in education is just as important as literacy.
   He uses a quote, "All children are born artists." He thinks we either grow or are educated out of creativity. Kids are not afraid of being wrong. That is a powerful thing because if you're not prepared to be wrong you automatically lose creativity. As you grow older you become afraid of being wrong and making mistakes, which this is what you have been taught.
   He believes that intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and distinct which I couldn't agree more after his statements about each category. He is challenging us to adopt fundamental issues on other ways to educate our youth. We should want to cultivate creativity, acknowledge multiple styles of intelligence, and help kids make something of their creative capacity and not narrow it. In light of the Mr. Winkle video and the things I've heard today, change is very much needed in the near future. Changes in the way we educate our youth and prepare them for the real world are crucial. As technology grows, we have to evolve with it and give them the best preparation possible if we want to continue to be a strong academic country.
   Traditional ways of teaching should soon be a thing of the past. We should embrace the new and better ways of doing things and imply them into the educational field. I honestly believe if changes aren't made soon, there will be some sort of downhill spiral our country takes as an educational whole. Lets make strides to better this situation and make this a strength and a positive.

Pinterest

   A. Created Account
   B. I think that student use of this would be greatly beneficial and a fun way of doing things such as projects, and presentations. I also think it would be a great tool to use for lesson plans.
   C. I started following Edutopia and Edudemic. Edutopia stays up to date and adds useful articles and different things that could be very useful in the classroom. Edudemic is also a good site to follow because they add useful tips on how to use web 2.0 in the classroom and also for helping create new ways to keep your students interested.
   D. Watched Video
   E. Explored Links

   I think Pinterest has already and will continue to be evolved into the educational process. It could be very helpful in mixing things up and showing your class new looks instead of the same old thing every day. Also, it could be a fun way for the kids to do a project or report of some sort. There are many ways you could go with it.