Sunday, September 9, 2012

Blog Post #2
Did you know?

I think that the Did You Know video serves a direct message to anyone who watches it. Times are changing and all of us must adjust to survive. We are all in this program to become educators, we need to bring out the best in each of our students and get them to be educated. Able to think and do for them to discover and educate not just “teach” our understanding.
We need to start making the changes necessary now, focusing on how we can prepare them for the future. If my students were to be having a hard time understanding Shakespeare or Hawthorne, then I need to modernize my teachings, get them to translate the “old English” into their level. The most important thing for me as an educator and not just as an “instructor” is to give my students the tools to teach themselves, to learn instead of memorize and to focus on comprehension rather than repetition. Students need the opportunity to advance their skills in proficiency in both technological and mental capacity while in the classroom and displaying the research and numbers about computer access and availability to students really brings into focus that we need both writing and typing skills to make students employable in the near future.Here is a link for the video: Did you Know by Strange

Mr. Winkle and the Next big Leap

In the Mr. Winkle Wakes video, Mr. Winkle awakens to the modern world and all its technological glory: Wrinkle me this.
I agree that the classrooms across America are not on the cutting edge of technology and I also see the argument from both sides as to the problem being both an administrative and a teacher preference problem.
What needs to happen is that teachers do need to update their skills but we need administration and government cooperation to do so. You can’t change the system without getting the entire system on board. I had heard of blogs before but I had never used or seen one prior to this course. Whether it is small town schools or private academies, every child should be afforded the opportunity to succeed in the future and in their lives as a whole.

Sir Ken Robinson is waging war for Creativity, Who's signing up?

Ok, first off let me say I love this video. If you didn’t get a chance to, here is a link to Sir Ken Robinson’s video: Robinson's Creativity. I agree with him one hundred percent that we must give students the opportunity to learn in their own way. It is important for everyone to have the chance to learn, whether their learning style is physical or “in their head and a little to the left,” as Sir Robinson put it.
I think that one of the main points from his video that hit home with me is that Intelligence is distinct and different for each person. “All children are born with talent,” says Robinson “and we squander it.” In order for us to effective train them for life; we need to stop looking for pills to reconfigure students and “rethink the fundamental principles with which we educate our children.”

The Made of Glass video was simply stunning

I am amazed that technology is advancing to such a level so soon. I remember that my senior year in high school was just beginning to integrate smart boards into the classroom. Now it looks like we will be supplying students with new ways to see the world and the ways to learn and teach are in for a radical change Day Made of Glass.
I do think that we need to start preparing for the future now and make the changes to the current style of teaching so that we can help others to become integrated into a technological society. We need to keep some things like classical Literature and comprehension of style; however, we do need to involve and expose both our students and ourselves constantly. In the words of Sir Robinson, the foundations of our educational systems are beginning to shift beneath our feet.

2 comments:

  1. Sidney,
    When your blog page first opened up, I noticed that you did not have a picture or your Email and contact info (Facebook and Twitter).
    Also, I did not understand the meaning of the sentence "Able to think and do for them to discover and educate not just “teach” our understanding." This is a fragment sentence and needs to be added to or attached to a previous or following sentence.
    On the other hand, you also had run-on sentences like this one: "Students need the opportunity to advance their skills in proficiency in both technological and mental capacity while in the classroom and displaying the research and numbers about computer access and availability to students really brings into focus that we need both writing and typing skills to make students employable in the near future". It's hard to distinguish your point, which sounds like the makings of a good one, because it is crowded together with another point. Be sure to make separate points, moving onto the next one after one has been made and the sentence has been punctuated.
    Also, find ways to incorporate your clickable links either in the title heading or into the body of text that it goes with. Sticking them at the end of the segment or the end of a sentence is confusing and looks like an after-thought.
    Be sure to include at least one image and use the instructions for the alt and title modifiers listed in the instruction manual.
    I thought your post was well-written and full of personality and creativity! The headings for each part of the post introduced what was to come in a bold and inviting way! Great job and keep up the creativity!
    Carly Pugh

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the comments, Carly. Sorry I don't have a picture up yet. I will fix that. I meant to say that teachers needed to be able to think and act for themselves, to have students discover and educate on their own, not just give the instructors point of view. I will try and be more clear in future entries. I appreciate your willingness to help me.

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