Blog Assignment #2

     Teaching in the 21st century will be completely different than how teaching used to be. Instead of there being just pencils, notebooks, and textbooks there are now phones, computers, and iPads; that is not even considering the different apps and websites there are to help students learn. 

1.     In the video "Mr. Dancealot", the professor, Mr. Dancealot, is teaching his students different dances, but all through powerpoint. The central message of this video is that just because we may have the technology to help teach does not necessarily mean that is the only way to teach. By the end of this video the teacher proves so by having his students take their final exam by performing the dances on video. The students however do not know the dances since all they had to learn from was from notes, but not actually getting to practice the dance moves. Mr. Dancealot does make an excellent point on this though. It shows that students should be able to interact when needed in the classroom to help them learn things taught to them better. 

2.     Kevin Roberts explains in the video "Teaching in the 21st Century" what he thinks it means to teach now-a-days. Like many of other teachers, Roberts is seeing how technology has grown as an important tool to use in the classroom. We need to connect with students on their level of how they are learning. Roberts even says how students do not need to be entertained, but engaged in the classroom to help the students learn better.  

Outline

I. The way things used to be taught is out of date. 

    A. Students are learning on their own with technology.

         1. Twitter

         2. Google

         3. Cell phones

    B. With technology comes new teaching

         1. Teaching how to validate information

         2. Teaching how to properly use Google and other search engines

         3.  Help students communicate information learned

II. Should curriculum be focused on facts or skills?

    A. The teachers give the skills so the students can find the facts

         1. Remember

         2. Understand 

         3. Apply

         4. Analyze 

         5. Evaluate 

         6. Create

     B. There are so many ways students are creating which need skills

         1. Blogging 

         2. Podcasting

         3. Programming

     C. The other skills students need when obtaining information

         1. Plagiarism

         2. Slander

         3. Pirating

III.  How to properly bring technology into the classroom

     A.The tools used have to be 

         1. Challenging 

         2. Engaging 

         3. Relevant 

     B. How is entertainment and engagement not the same

         1. Entertainment is passive and enjoyment

         2. Engagement is active and learning

IV. Engagement starts with teachers

      A. Seeing what resources are out there 

      B. Start off small with the technology

      C. Collaborate with other people 

      D. Take a risk and see what happens when trying something else

     

     How Kevin Roberts sees teaching changing is spot on. Having him saying that technology is a temptation, but should be monitored like pencils and notebooks is a great way to connect the new teaching to the older. The way he is seeing the way everything is changing will only help future educators with their students. Even though some may not be very computer literate they can still learn easy things to help engage students in the classroom with technology. It will affect me as an educator since I am even learning new things as I go. It will affect my in the sense that everyday something new and different is being created in the technology filled that out does something else. 

3.    When I first read the question "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?" before even watching the video "The Networked Student", I thought a lot of the same things the video mentions. Teachers are their to guide their students and have them thinking about different things that are going on in this world. Teachers are to teach the basic things the students would need to know to help them grow. Students will use their own skills and tools learned from the teachers to find the facts and answers to things. Teachers are as a guide and not the one who knows all.

4.     In Vicki Davis' video "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" she makes the point that students learn better with technology. She even has a comment that teachers think they need to know everything they teach, but the don't. I love how she makes that statement because we do all pull from one another. I love how she uses all form of technology in her classroom because that is something that is needed in the classrooms today.

5.      The video title "Who's Ahead In the Learning Race?" really gets a person thinking.  Everybody who probably say well my learning class right? Well in this video if someone is in elementary school and thought they are ahead, then they are correct. Dr. Strange does a really interesting study here on elementary, undergraduate, and graduate students. Since kids are starting at such a young age learning about technology it would only make sense they are ahead. Younger students are being taught things that I myself am just learning which is neat, but at the same time weird since I now see myself as being behind on the learning race.

6.     Flipping the classroom is actually something I have never seen before. I actually learned a lot form the video "Flipping the Classroom". Some of my friends have studied lecture notes the night ahead, but it is not like we necessarily had to. Flipping the classroom would benefit not only the teachers, but also the students. Students will be getting the best knowledge they can get and possibly even learn more. Since classroom time would no longer be "wasted" it is an advantage on the students for growing their own knowledge on things. Flipping the classroom does seem useful since it would use everyone's time wisely, makes students better prepared for class, and not as boring for a student since they can be at home. 

7.     In "Bringing the Locker Room to the Classroom" I could use a way for having students teach their own classmates. Craig Owens says that students would see him as the one who would know all since most of the times all questions were directed towards him. In that sense I would not always have to necessarily give my student an answer, but instead work with a classmate as a "team" to find the right answer.