Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know? 3.0 By: Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod

First, I want to start out by saying that this video is awesome! I watched it several times and kept pausing and restarting it to make sure I got everything! The stat, "The top 10 in- demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004" was really interesting to me. Jobs just don't appear out of thin air, so that means that certain advances and major changes had to be happening for those 10 jobs to come about. To go along with that stat, another slide said that, "We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist." I have never really though about that before but it's so true.
Another interesting slide was the one that said, "If Myspace were a country it would be the 5th largest in the world." That really makes me realize exactly how HUGE social networking is and that was based on 3 years ago. Also, the video said that it only took Facebook 2 years to reach a market audience of 50 million. And I believe it, it's very rare that I run across someone who doesn't know what Facebook is. Just as a side note, my Grandmother has a Facebook and personally I think that's awesome. Some older people are totally against using technology but with the way this world already is and the way it's heading if people refuse to use technology I truly feel that it will hinder their ability to learn! Why not take advantage of all the ways there are for us to learn these days?


Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman

I very often think to myself, "what would people of the past think about the way the world is today?" I would absolutely love to take someone from just 75 years ago, which relatively speaking is not that long ago, around and show them college campuses, stores, airports, cars and just all the things that are improved so often. Which to us things on a year to year basis change a little they get little tweet and things but nothing huge. To someone 75 years ago or even 20 years ago people having laptops and several computers in their homes would blow their minds!
Honestly, I wasn't really seeing what direction this video was heading when it first started but after "Mr. Winkle" entered the school it became very clear. What I got from it was that all of the aspects of this world are changing so much but, one thing that has pretty much consistently stayed the same is school. Children of all ages go to school, sit in their desks, and listen to the teacher. With all the new technology, it really makes no sense that school stays the same. And honestly this really makes me realize even more what EDM 310 is all about. School is about children learning of course but, technology is becoming mandatory in our lives therefore that is something that needs to be used and taught in schools.


Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

One of the most true things that Mr. Robinson said in this video was, "Kids aren't afraid of being wrong." So simple but yet so true. Being wrong is one of the things that I fear most as an adult. I absolutely do not want to be wrong or do the "wrong things". Society has a way of making people feel, or at least me, that things either are or they aren't, they are black or white, yes or no. The creativity of being "wrong" or going against the grain is disappearing. Mr. Robinson made a comment somewhere along the lines of "if you are afraid to be wrong, you'll never be creative". Another thing Mr. Robinson said was that he thinks "creativity is as important as literacy." Which I'm sure there are tons of people that will not agree with that but, I can see where he is coming from. If we as humans and teachers aren't encouraging the arts, what will happen to them? They will eventually disappear.
Another really interesting thing Mr. Robinson talked about was that we are supposed to be preparing children for the future but, WE don't know what the future holds. Therefore, we have to educate children on everything not just Mathematics and Language. Society puts Mathematics and Language at the top of the list and the arts, such as drama and dance at the bottom. I don't know how many shows and movies I have watched based around the common underdog story of people wanting to do what they love and certain characters, usually the parents, saying "you'll never make it in life doing that". Society as a whole has painted the picture that people can't make it in life unless they're sitting at a desk in a suit and tie doing something "very important". Lastly, but probably the statement I will remember the most from Mr. Robinson is, "We don't grow out of creativity, we are educated out of it."


Cecelia Gault (Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson

I think Cecelia Gault did an excellent job in interviewing Mr. Robinson. All the questions that she asked him were obviously written and though out very well. She spoke clearly and kept eye contact with him throughout the interview. She seemed very mature for her age.
As far as how would I make sure that "Cecelia Gault's" in my classroom are as well educated as she was is a tough question. Everyone is different but, hopefully I can cater to each child's individual needs and teach them in a way that they can understand. I can make sure that they understand why it is that they need to learn what I am teaching. Also, I can explain the importance of the lesson and give examples of how they can use the information later in life.


Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smart

Watching this video really made me wish that my high school would have had something like this. And the fact that this is going on in a school in a small, rural Georgia town is awesome. The class seems to be giving the students opportunities, like communicating with people in the Middle East, that they would have never had. I loved the comment that Ms. Davis made that, "With only pencil and only paper, only certain types of children are going to succeed." I think that couldn't be more true. We all know that we learn one way better than another. Some people are visual some people learn better by hearing, it just depends on you.
Another interesting thing Ms. Davis mentioned is that she customizes her lessons based on the class. So many teachers use the same lesson plans over and over and before long they are outdated and hardly make sense. I have had this happen to me in a classroom more than once. Ms. Davis also said that she likes to empower the students and let them teach the class, which I think is a wonderful idea. When students have the chance to really sink their teeth into something that they know they are going to have to teach the class about it gives them a sense of importance.