When I first started reading, I was a little confused. Why would Dr. Strange want us to be reading something that goes against what we are learning. I had an "ah-ha" moment when I reached the line that said "can't wait to see who had a leg up in a decade or two". I read through SEVERAL of the comments that former EDM 310 students left and did not find a single one opposing what he wrote. He seems to be a big supporter of technology and incorporating it into children's education.This is a link relevant to college students. It shows some statistics involving Facebook and the students who use it.
The iSchool Initiative: Travis Allen
This presentation was very impressive and totally inspiring. I can't believe this came from the mind of a 17-year-old. He brought up many interesting points about why incorporating technology into schools is imperative. Not only will this save money and wipe out the problems of poor funding, but it will also lower the size of the school's carbon footprint. Being green is so important these days! He also brings up statistics that compare the cost before the iSchool and after.
Per student, the cost of being in school can be as much as $600. With an iTouch, this number can be lowered to a little over $150! Per class, the cost is would be lowered because there is no longer a need for paper, ink cartridges, projectors or chalk. These things add up. After watching this video, I am even more excited to use technology when I begin my student teaching and introduce new techniques to some of the veteran teachers.
Zeitgist YoungMinds: Travis Allen
Jennifer Chambers' Post and Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
This has to be my favorite video so far. I don't think I would have the motivation or the patience to put something like this together! This was so incredibly complex and was even more beautiful than I expected. I wonder how long this took to complete...
Teaching in the 21st Century
This video explains, in great detail, that students may know how to use Google, YouTube, Ask, etc., but do they really know how to use all of what these sites offer? Before I began taking EDM 310, I had NO IDEA that I could use the internet to teach. I've learned so many amazing ways to incorporate technology into a lesson plan.
Mr. Roberts lists hundreds of things that are primarily done on a computer. He offers so many everyday questions that we ask the internet. I can easily say fifty percent of the search topics he included in the Prez are things that I have inquired about on a Google search engine. It is truly mind blowing the extent of information that is provided by the internet.With all of this information available to students, should our curriculum be focused on facts and content...or skills?
Reading Rockets
I fell in love with this site immediately. How could you not? It's perfect. I found so many useful resources and links that led me to articles that could answer literally any question I have about teaching a child to read. What I found the most interesting was the fact that many of the articles were on the importance of classroom management. Several stated that before you can effectively teach a child to read, you must have an organized classroom in order to provide a workable reading environment.
I found several links that could help teachers do an effective read-aloud, find the right book level, find great informational books, set up a classroom library (my favorite) and find free or low-cost books. Reading Rockets offers hundreds of articles that provide research-based and best-practice information for teachers, parents and others concerned about reading achievement. I loved this site because I can turn to it whenever I have a question and it will give me several perspectives instead of one or two. That way, I can put together my own style of teaching a child to read. Check this out! Great article.
Emily, your blog post was very detailed and easy to read. I enjoyed it because I agreed with many of the same things as you stated. I thought Travis Allen was so impressive and his idea should definitely be integrated into the school systems. I think it is a great idea because the school systems would definitely save a tremendous amount of money, and who doesn't love that? I think it is great that you want to incorporate technology into the classroom once you begin student teaching. I definitely plan on doing the exact same thing.
ReplyDeleteThe virtual choir was also my favorite video that we have watched this far. It goes to show you that the internet can be used for good. I thought the video was so peaceful and beautifully put together.
I definitely though Reading Rocket was such an amazing resource that I will be using on a daily basis. I found myself saving different worksheets and printing off items already! I wish you the best of luck throughout the rest of EDM310 and you seem like such an intelligent individual. You will become a fantastic educator.
best of luck,
Emilie
Emily, you had many great thoughts about each of the assignments for this week. Also they were all very similar with what I thought about them to. In your paragraph about Teaching in the 21st century you asked if the curriculum taught should be more about content or skills? I think it is a mixture of both. Content and facts are important to learn because material needs to be understood and memorized. I was once told that we learn history because they don't want us to repeat it. I find that it is very important to know what has happened in this world and students need to keep learning that information. But it should also be taught testing their skills instead of just simply memorizing the facts. This will allow the students to have more hands on learning and be effected more through an interesting way. Maybe the students will actually remember the material and hopefully take it to heart.
ReplyDeleteAre you ready to be the new kind of educator that is called for by these authors? It appears that you are moving in that direction. That is what we want to have happen. Keep it up!
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