Blog Post #2

Mr. Dancealot

In Professor Dancealot's classroom he uses power point lectures to teach the students. He spends all of his time reading his power points and not interacting with his students. He is teaching a dancing class which should be hands-on learning. Instead, he stands behind a desk and teaches dance steps. None of the students can see and they all get very bored with his class fast. The central message in this video is that it is awesome to have education in the class room. But without using it the right way, it can only hinder the student and their learning experience. He makes his case about this by ending the video when the students are taking their final exam. They all went home and tried to study. They even could have their books for the exam! However, when no teaching is done and just technology is used, the student will not be able to learn. I agree with what he tried to convey in this video. We can all benefit from having technology in the classroom. But you must remember to teach and use the technology as a helper.

Teaching in the 21st Century

To Robert, teaching in the 21st century means several things. Most importantly, teachers need to be a filter of knowledge. Everything, everywhere, is now available to these students. Teaching will now be teaching skills to utilize this information. The students will need to learn what is slander, what is copyright fraud, what is plagiarism, and how they can be professional adults. They need to learn to blog, podcast, animate, collaborate, and identify what is reliable and what is not. Robert lays out an argument and has evidence to counteract it. All the answers are available to these students, how can we just let them answer? Don't just let them Google an answer! Make them explain why they answered the way that they did. Give them questions that require research and critical thinking. How can you let them play on toys? Technology will evolve from being a toy and transition into being a learning necessity. Everything must be relevant and ENGAGE the child. ENGAGEMENT over ENTERTAINMENT! The lessons should be fun and exciting but not passive. I really agree with him on the way he thinks teaching is rapidly changing. Everything is available and teachers must transition just like the technology is. As an educator, I will have to find ways to teach, include technology, keep learning interesting,and teach the students the skills to use the technology in a beneficial way instead of a toy.

The Networked Student This video truly shows just how capable a student is of using networking to learn in the 21st century. It is amazing just how much you can do and learn with technology. As the video went on I started to think just how obsolete a teacher might become. It had me worried until the end of the video. The student no longer requires a teacher for the information. But he/she does require a teacher to teach them how to do these things. A teacher connects them with the world. If they are stuck she can find new pathways. She can give assignments that will further the student in their intellectual journey. The teacher is in no way shape or form becoming obsolete. The teacher is just becoming a different kind of information source.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

In Mrs. Davis' video she is wanting the world to know that students no longer need just a pen and paper to learn. And that they should not be learning that way ever again. Not all students can learn from just looking at paper. Some students are visual learners, others learn from hands-on experience. I agree with all of her ideas. She does not spoon feed the student. It reminds me of our EDM 310 class. "I don't know. Let's find out!" I am not sure if I would be so immersed in the class like she is with everything being online and going on around the world. But she is doing an awesome job at it!

Flipping the Classroom

Flipping the classroom is a new concept to me. I had never heard of this until just now while watching this video. It seems like it could be a great way to further utilize class time! But I definitely have some questions. How will this stack up with homework the students have from other classes? What age groups would this work best with? Would all parents stick to the plan or not enforce the assignment at home. I think this could work at some schools. Maybe at schools with higher income families who tend to have stay-at-home mothers. I personally do not think this would be a game changer in education. I don't think it would fully be supported by parents. Kids need outside time and this might take up their free time after school. Consequently, it might make the child resent school. Some children might also have a hard time concentrating on watching the video and would not receive the information as well as others.