Did You Know? 3.0
This video had quite a bit of surprising information to offer. The rapid, exponential rate at which technology is increasing within our world is astonishing. It is also surprising that America is so far behind other major nations on the globe. China will soon be the number one English speaking country on the globe. Does this mean that English will soon be the predominant language everywhere? It seems that many nations teach their students English, starting at a young age. While Americans typically learn a foreign language, most of us could not survive very long in a country that speaks that language. Why are we not teaching our students to speak another language fluently? India has more honors children than the US has children? Is it just the large difference in population that causes this, or is our education curriculum really that far behind?
Technology is becoming so advance that most jobs that existed years ago are obsolete. Most jobs these days require schooling. If a college education is not required, technical training is almost always necessary. I think it's very disheartening that a student enters their college career hoping to find a job upon graduation, but graduates only to find out that what they learned as a freshman is no longer correct or relevant. It seems as though the job market is going to have to adjust for this new technologically advanced society to function properly.
Mr. Winkle Wakes is a short movie created by Mr. Needleman to show the changes in technology over the past 100 years while Mr. Winkle slept. He makes the point that many business and hospitals have made huge advancements in technology while schools seem just as they were 100 years ago. I believe this is true to a point, but I believe this movie exaggerates it a bit. Hospitals and business have advanced much more rapidly than the school system. There are many new ways to communicate instantly across the globe. Not only can you hear a person that is half way across the country, or even the globe, but you can also see this person as well. There are advances to the cell phone and computer programs of which I am not even aware. Hospitals have ways to helping people that were not even fathomable 100 years ago. Doctors have learned to prolong life in so many ways. This is mostly possible because of technology.
The exaggeration within this movie is the school systems lack of advancement. While I do agree that the schools have not advanced as much as businesses or hospitals, I do not believe they are anything like they were 100 years ago. There are computers located in almost every classroom in every school. We have moved past chalkboards to more advanced technology. At USA, smartboards have been installed in most classrooms. Even if technology at some schools has not come this far, overhead projectors replaced chalkboards years ago. The issue in the school system, in my opinion, is not the lack of technology, but the lack of knowledge as to how to use this technology. As I have already mentioned, USA has installed SmartBoards in most classrooms. While this is clearly an advancement, most of my teachers are not familiar with how to use these. Because they are not familiar with them, they tend to avoid them and look for alternative methods of teaching. This is not the case with all teachers or all schools. Many teachers are very technologically savvy, but for those who are not, it shows.
Killing Creativity
This video sums up almost exactly how I feel about school systems. I have lived in Alabama my entire life. I have never attended a school outside of the state of Alabama, so I never knew that the issue of creativity was a problem elsewhere as well. I always hated to make generalizations, but after watching this video it seems that this is, indeed, an issue in most places across the globe. Creativity is almost always stifled at a young age. I believe a reason for this is because there is no right and wrong answer when dealing with a creative subject. Many teachers that I've encountered like to grade things with right or wrong answers because it's easier. Yes, sometimes it's hard to grade a work subjectively, but creativity it what's it's all about in the present time. With the issues in today's world, creativity is going to be the only answer. Mathematics and science can only take us so far. Eventually, we are going to have to get creative with our methods if we want to change anything. If the education system continues to stifle the creativity in children, not much will ever change.
I loved the example of the dancer, Jillian. This seems to be a common occurrence recently. His point about ADHD really hit the nail on the head. I know that some children truly suffer from attention deficit disorder, but I believe that doctors are too quick to diagnose them with this. As in the case with Jillian, she simply needed an alternative method to learning. She was not apt for sitting in a desk and listening to a teacher lecture throughout the day. This leads me into the idea that, not only do teachers need to allow their students to be creative, but teachers themselves need to be creative. There are many different children entering the education system. Each of these children has a different method of learning, and teachers need to be able to identify these methods and adapt to them. I believe if teachers become more creative in their teaching, students will learn that creativity is not a bad thing. This could greatly improve our world.
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
I really enjoyed how involved Mrs. Davis was in the education of her students. She seemed genuine in her teaching, and very interested in what they had to say. She understands how rapidly technology is advancing, and she does not want any of her students left behind. It is so easy these days to get behind in the advancements. There are many people who believe they are technologically literate, but generally have no idea what has recently been developed. There is so much more than instant message, e-mail and social networking sites. The programs Mrs. Davis has her students use are some that I've never even heard of myself. I do not consider myself up-to-date with technology at all, but I've already discovered so many things that I did not know in my first 2 days of class that I'm further behind than I thought.
Not only did I like the programs that Mrs. Davis chose for her students, but I also really liked her method of teaching. Technology is not something you can learn through instructions. It takes hands-on interactions to actually master it. Mrs. Davis had her students very involved in all of the programs. They each had to navigate through the program themselves. I also liked how she allowed her students to teach. One sure way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. She was also very quick to say that she was not finished learning about this technology herself. I think that's one of the joys of technology. There is not true point when you know everything there is to know about it. I love learning, and I find technology interesting because there is no point when you stop learning. Mrs. Davis has a bright outlook on the technological advancements of the day, and her students will definitely be up to date with all advancements made in the near future.
Killing Creativity
This video sums up almost exactly how I feel about school systems. I have lived in Alabama my entire life. I have never attended a school outside of the state of Alabama, so I never knew that the issue of creativity was a problem elsewhere as well. I always hated to make generalizations, but after watching this video it seems that this is, indeed, an issue in most places across the globe. Creativity is almost always stifled at a young age. I believe a reason for this is because there is no right and wrong answer when dealing with a creative subject. Many teachers that I've encountered like to grade things with right or wrong answers because it's easier. Yes, sometimes it's hard to grade a work subjectively, but creativity it what's it's all about in the present time. With the issues in today's world, creativity is going to be the only answer. Mathematics and science can only take us so far. Eventually, we are going to have to get creative with our methods if we want to change anything. If the education system continues to stifle the creativity in children, not much will ever change.
I loved the example of the dancer, Jillian. This seems to be a common occurrence recently. His point about ADHD really hit the nail on the head. I know that some children truly suffer from attention deficit disorder, but I believe that doctors are too quick to diagnose them with this. As in the case with Jillian, she simply needed an alternative method to learning. She was not apt for sitting in a desk and listening to a teacher lecture throughout the day. This leads me into the idea that, not only do teachers need to allow their students to be creative, but teachers themselves need to be creative. There are many different children entering the education system. Each of these children has a different method of learning, and teachers need to be able to identify these methods and adapt to them. I believe if teachers become more creative in their teaching, students will learn that creativity is not a bad thing. This could greatly improve our world.
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
I really enjoyed how involved Mrs. Davis was in the education of her students. She seemed genuine in her teaching, and very interested in what they had to say. She understands how rapidly technology is advancing, and she does not want any of her students left behind. It is so easy these days to get behind in the advancements. There are many people who believe they are technologically literate, but generally have no idea what has recently been developed. There is so much more than instant message, e-mail and social networking sites. The programs Mrs. Davis has her students use are some that I've never even heard of myself. I do not consider myself up-to-date with technology at all, but I've already discovered so many things that I did not know in my first 2 days of class that I'm further behind than I thought.
Not only did I like the programs that Mrs. Davis chose for her students, but I also really liked her method of teaching. Technology is not something you can learn through instructions. It takes hands-on interactions to actually master it. Mrs. Davis had her students very involved in all of the programs. They each had to navigate through the program themselves. I also liked how she allowed her students to teach. One sure way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. She was also very quick to say that she was not finished learning about this technology herself. I think that's one of the joys of technology. There is not true point when you know everything there is to know about it. I love learning, and I find technology interesting because there is no point when you stop learning. Mrs. Davis has a bright outlook on the technological advancements of the day, and her students will definitely be up to date with all advancements made in the near future.
Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteWhen reading your posts I was very impressed by the fact that you had so many questions. That is something that we are trying to promote in the learning process in this class. Question everything and then let's work together to find an answer. Along the way, we will learn a lot of new information and break through the "burp-back" education system.
Do SMARTBoards really change education or are we, as you say, just replacing our overhead projectors with fancier tools?
ReplyDelete