1. Did You Know?
This first video was a complete eyeopener, I had no clue so many people were using all these different technologies. I was completely unaware of the statistics where so many non US people were ahead in the learning curve. Those people are incredible and to think how much faster they are at learning things really makes me wonder why we the United States are so far behind. With that being said, you would think since over 90% of our population has smart phones and all these amazing technologies that we would be the leading country in learning.
The question of if I am ready to teach the children to be prepared for the technologies that haven't even been invented yet has a simple answer, no. I am in no way ready, I honestly don't even know what I am doing half the time when using things of this time frame, let alone what we will have in 2025! I am terrified, but I guess that is why I am still learning now and maybe I will be ready when that time comes.
2.Mr. Winkle Wakes
What a strange video! It was creative and cute, but slightly uninteresting. I found myself thinking of other things and not really paying it much attention. I did however, like the initial message behind the video. The fact that things really don't change in the classroom is so true and such a bore. A classroom should be fun and entertaining, lectures are tiring and only fun for "hundred year" old men. Technological advances really could make for a more interesting class period.
3.Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
In this video Ken Robinson says that creativity is as important as literacy and should be treated as such. He says children aren't afraid to be wrong and make mistakes but we teach them to be afraid to make mistakes. This to me is so true, and such a horrible act that we participate in, this shouldn't be our way of thinking because the best way to learn the right thing, is to make the mistake in the first place. We have to be able to learn and grow from our mistakes. Also is states that as we grow, we are growing out of creativity which is completely true, these days things with even the slightest bit of fun (art, music, ect.) is being pushed out of the school system to make more room for the things that are not exactly a child's favorite (math, history, and so on).
Robinson tells us that intelligence is diverse, dynamic and distinct, and with the schools trying to remove the arts as children get older they could very easily lose their sense of creativity. Removing the arts in schools is a horrible thing and I sincerely hope that this changes soon, or that people realize the loss of such a wonderful program.
4.Pintrest
Honestly, I have been a Pintrest girl it feels like since the day it was created, I love it and always find the neatest and most fun crafts to do when I get on the website. I have seen things from, how to decorate my class to fit the seasons, to the coolest science projects that I never did when I was younger. I love Pintrest and there is not a single thing that could be said to tell me I couldn't use it in a classroom!
You misunderstood the comparative data on China, India and the United States. India has four times the population of the United States and China has five times the population of America, This means that the size of the population leads to the large numbers of "honor students" or English speakers when India or China are compared to the United States. You could also say that the 20 % of the population in China with the largest ears (or 25% of the population with the largest ears in India) outnumbers all of the people with ears of any size in the United States.
ReplyDeleteDon't be a bore in your classroom!