Friday, September 30, 2011
Project 6a: Podcast
EDM 310 - Podcast - Rafe Esquith's "There Are No Shortcuts" - Ch 1,2,12, and epilogue by Isaac Evans - EDM 310
Blog Post 6
Windy Drexler - The Networked Student
The video opens with a story about a student studying American Psychology with no textbook or lecturing teacher. Said teacher believes in "Connectivism", which is a system in which students learn through networking. To do this, a student needs a Personal Learning Network, which he finds by finding credible online resources and bookmarking them on a public bookmarking site. Next, he finds blogs about his topic, keeping in mind that they may well be biased. He keeps up with his blogs through a reader, such as Google Reader.
He then begins his own public blog about what all he has learned. He uses his mp3 player to download podcasts and resources to teach him more. He even finds a documentary and sets up a video conference to learn more about his topic.
Much of this video was about the personal organization of information via the web, such as by using Google Reader and Delicious Bookmarks. However, in the last minute of this video, the question of why he needs a teacher is presented. The answer is surprsingly simple - he needs a teacher to show him how to learn! She helps him find resources that are legitimate and useful, communicate effectively, and synthesize information.
I hope that I have the resources to teach like this. In a Science classroom, much of this learning is done by experimentation. After watching this, I think that many teachers might have it wrong... instead of teaching a concept and using a laboratory exercise to back it up, why can't we do a laboratory exercise and THEN use it to enforce the concepts we woul have reviewed with the exercise. For example, when some teachers would choose to teach about Avogadro's number and THEN do the oil drop experiement in class to show how it was found, why not have the students conduct said experiment first and THEN give the actual value. Furthermore, students could then evaluate their experimentation and critique any error in their found value. I feel like this method of teaching is much more effective then simply telling the answer.
"Welcome to My PLE!"
![The logo for Symbaloo, an online bookmarking service]( "Source: symbaloo.com border=")
This video shows a 7th grade student giving a tour of her Personal Learning Environment. The school she is at has taught her how to find and evaluate information. Like our class, her class uses a blog to do assignments and uses Google Docs to create and edit documents.
Clearly, her Science class is very interactive. Students are required to do research online and create reports for both class and extra activities, such as becoming certified to hold the classroom pet. Even more interesting to me is the encouragement for students to have their work peer reviewed - but not by their peers in the classroom! This particular girl e-mailed a couple of scientists to ask questions about the Box Jellyfish.
Students also have a good bit of freedom as to when and how they do their work. This student says that it encourages responsibility, which I think is fantastic. If we encourage this, students will be more prepared for college than before! The ability to work efficiently and independantly is a crucial skill for college, and the teacher in charge of this classroom should be commended for her efforts.
The video opens with a story about a student studying American Psychology with no textbook or lecturing teacher. Said teacher believes in "Connectivism", which is a system in which students learn through networking. To do this, a student needs a Personal Learning Network, which he finds by finding credible online resources and bookmarking them on a public bookmarking site. Next, he finds blogs about his topic, keeping in mind that they may well be biased. He keeps up with his blogs through a reader, such as Google Reader.
He then begins his own public blog about what all he has learned. He uses his mp3 player to download podcasts and resources to teach him more. He even finds a documentary and sets up a video conference to learn more about his topic.
Much of this video was about the personal organization of information via the web, such as by using Google Reader and Delicious Bookmarks. However, in the last minute of this video, the question of why he needs a teacher is presented. The answer is surprsingly simple - he needs a teacher to show him how to learn! She helps him find resources that are legitimate and useful, communicate effectively, and synthesize information.
I hope that I have the resources to teach like this. In a Science classroom, much of this learning is done by experimentation. After watching this, I think that many teachers might have it wrong... instead of teaching a concept and using a laboratory exercise to back it up, why can't we do a laboratory exercise and THEN use it to enforce the concepts we woul have reviewed with the exercise. For example, when some teachers would choose to teach about Avogadro's number and THEN do the oil drop experiement in class to show how it was found, why not have the students conduct said experiment first and THEN give the actual value. Furthermore, students could then evaluate their experimentation and critique any error in their found value. I feel like this method of teaching is much more effective then simply telling the answer.
"Welcome to My PLE!"
Clearly, her Science class is very interactive. Students are required to do research online and create reports for both class and extra activities, such as becoming certified to hold the classroom pet. Even more interesting to me is the encouragement for students to have their work peer reviewed - but not by their peers in the classroom! This particular girl e-mailed a couple of scientists to ask questions about the Box Jellyfish.
Students also have a good bit of freedom as to when and how they do their work. This student says that it encourages responsibility, which I think is fantastic. If we encourage this, students will be more prepared for college than before! The ability to work efficiently and independantly is a crucial skill for college, and the teacher in charge of this classroom should be commended for her efforts.
Project 7: C4K (Month of September)
For my first C4K, I commented on a post by Annexee at Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand. In her post "Champions", she talked about the school's Year 7 Rugby Team recently winning a tournament in Auckland. Apparently, they went undefeated for twelve games. I told her how impressive that was to me after introducing myself.
A couple of days later, I actually received a sweet post on my blog from Annexee, saying thank you for my comment and telling me that she thought I'd be a great teacher. I can't lie, that absolutely made my day.
The next week, I visited Tamara's blog, also at Pt. England School. Her most recent post was about the flag of Romania, and she gave a description of what the different colors meant. I told her that I enjoyed her post and that I felt like we should all strive to have the different character traits she listed. I asked her what she felt her strongest and weakest were from the list after giving mine.
For the third week, I visited the Coastal Technology Project blog maintained by Anthony Capps and Martha Yim. My assigned post was by Ms. Yim, where she spoke on her experiences in the first week of the project. I loved her point about having to ease students and their teacher into the use of this technology - it allows them to be less scared and simply learn on their own. I'm looking forward to following this project as it progresses throughout the year. As I pointed out to Ms. Yim in my comment, it seems that when I was in school, the new technology was simply placed in the hands of the teachers - but the idea of placing it in the hands of the students is very exciting!
In the fourth week, I visited Alex's blog. Alex is a student competing in the International Blogging contest, and he posted several introductory facts about himself. He is twelve years old. In my comment, I compared how we were alike and different and invited him to view the "About Me" presentation on my blog, which I gave him a link to.
A couple of days later, I actually received a sweet post on my blog from Annexee, saying thank you for my comment and telling me that she thought I'd be a great teacher. I can't lie, that absolutely made my day.
The next week, I visited Tamara's blog, also at Pt. England School. Her most recent post was about the flag of Romania, and she gave a description of what the different colors meant. I told her that I enjoyed her post and that I felt like we should all strive to have the different character traits she listed. I asked her what she felt her strongest and weakest were from the list after giving mine.
For the third week, I visited the Coastal Technology Project blog maintained by Anthony Capps and Martha Yim. My assigned post was by Ms. Yim, where she spoke on her experiences in the first week of the project. I loved her point about having to ease students and their teacher into the use of this technology - it allows them to be less scared and simply learn on their own. I'm looking forward to following this project as it progresses throughout the year. As I pointed out to Ms. Yim in my comment, it seems that when I was in school, the new technology was simply placed in the hands of the teachers - but the idea of placing it in the hands of the students is very exciting!
In the fourth week, I visited Alex's blog. Alex is a student competing in the International Blogging contest, and he posted several introductory facts about himself. He is twelve years old. In my comment, I compared how we were alike and different and invited him to view the "About Me" presentation on my blog, which I gave him a link to.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Blog Post 5
Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?
"Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?", by Dr. Scott McLeod is a satire on the arguments that people use to get around teaching children technology. He states arguments such as "pen and paper aren't going anywhere" and "they could be sexting (so don't let them near cell phones!) and getting hooked up with predators". In this article, he, like many others, focuses on the NEGATIVE only in technology, until the end, when he says: "don't do any of it, please; really; 'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids; can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two; can you?", which I feel like is his main point - children who are trained in technology will have a leg up in the future.
According to his official website, Dr. McLeod is an associate professor of education at the University of Kentucky. He founded and currently directs CASTLE, which is a project to train school administrators in technology. He is also an avid blogger and twitter users. For his work in promoting technology, he has won multiple awards, such as being named a Phi Delta Kappa emerging leader.
The iSchool Initiative (Mobile Learning)
In this video, Travis Allen, a seventeen year old high school student in Georgia, argues that he has a solution for the multiple problems our education system is suffering through. He has prepared a PowerPoint entitled, "Does Technology Belong in the Classroom?".
Allen feels that iPod Touches, by the company Apple, could replace the current trends in the classroom, such as papers, pecils, etc. He showcases certain apps, such as the E-Mail app, where students, parents, and teachers could stay in touch with one another, Chemical Touch, an app about the periodic table, a digitial copy of the consitution, WorldWiki, an application that gives maps and globes, Formulae, an application that provides every possible formula for science and maps students, a calendar application, a notetaking application, and more. He even shows the application "Classics", which could be a great resource to read books, including textbooks. iHomework allows students and teachers to communicate about homework.
Allen shows that the iPod touch could be further customized to show grades, calendar menus, and more school information. He shows that it could save money on things such as calculators, paper, and textbooks, and he says that it could save $600 (at least) per student for $150 per iSchool.
Travis Allen, now a student at Kentucky State University, travels around to help push the iSchool initiative with seminars. Towards the end of the second video, Allen says, "The simple truth is this: If we are going to thrive in the information age, we must rethink, retool, and rebuild our educational institution to better prepare our youth for the digital world we were born in to."
Wow. That's about all I can say about this video. I immediately posted the final quote given to my Facebook after watching - how incredibly true, and how wonderful that somebody my age could have already made such a difference! Honestly, I'm unsure as to why we haven't made this leap into technology yet, though I suspect fear is a large part of it. The idea of teachers being so incredibly accessible would be wonderful for students, and the idea of carrying around a small, less than one pound, mini computer is very appealing as opposed to multiple backpacks and books. This is probably the most impressive video I've seen in this course to date.
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
Eric Whitacre's use of the internet and technology is absolutely incredible. Funnily enough, this is not the first time I've seen something like this. Being a fan of musical theatre, I've seen videos where people have sung songs together via the internet and laid down the tracks together to create harmonies. That said, I've never seen anything of this magnitude. And this is just 185 people. Under the video, there is a link to "Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 2.0", where "Sleep" is performed by 2,085 people from fifty-eight different countries. Wow! What a way to connect with people from around the world! This is extremely impressive!
In the classroom, it might be fun for a choir or theatre teacher to try something like this. If the jobs were avaiable, I would probably actually be a music education major and would definitely love to try something like this. I'm about to email this video to my old choir teacher from high school.
"Teaching in the 21st Century"
Kevin Roberts' video "Teaching in the 21st Century" asks the simply question "What does it mean to teach in the 21st century". He starts by saying that teachers are obsolete if all they can provide is information, seeing as students have easy access to all kinds of information - we are now a filter, helping them how to go through information and use the information already given to them. He states that we should be teaching students skills - both life skills and technology skills - as opposed to simply facts and content.
The crux of his video seems to be that we should be teaching students how to use technology to obtain reliable data and to work together using technology. He states that we should be engaging students in their education, not simply teaching them.
I have actually always thought that it is astounding that our schools do not teach many life skills to student - skills such as how to change a tire, how to find housing and evaluate housing, and other realistic skills for life. Mr. Roberts seems to touch on that. I do love the idea of helping students obtain facts and content and evaluate sources, but I also feel that some facts and content must be taught. Basic principles of any core curriculum should be cemented into the head of students, though many of the higher concepts could be taught by simply teaching students how to obtain the information they need instead of having to burp it back.
"Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?", by Dr. Scott McLeod is a satire on the arguments that people use to get around teaching children technology. He states arguments such as "pen and paper aren't going anywhere" and "they could be sexting (so don't let them near cell phones!) and getting hooked up with predators". In this article, he, like many others, focuses on the NEGATIVE only in technology, until the end, when he says: "don't do any of it, please; really; 'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids; can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two; can you?", which I feel like is his main point - children who are trained in technology will have a leg up in the future.
According to his official website, Dr. McLeod is an associate professor of education at the University of Kentucky. He founded and currently directs CASTLE, which is a project to train school administrators in technology. He is also an avid blogger and twitter users. For his work in promoting technology, he has won multiple awards, such as being named a Phi Delta Kappa emerging leader.
In this video, Travis Allen, a seventeen year old high school student in Georgia, argues that he has a solution for the multiple problems our education system is suffering through. He has prepared a PowerPoint entitled, "Does Technology Belong in the Classroom?".
Allen feels that iPod Touches, by the company Apple, could replace the current trends in the classroom, such as papers, pecils, etc. He showcases certain apps, such as the E-Mail app, where students, parents, and teachers could stay in touch with one another, Chemical Touch, an app about the periodic table, a digitial copy of the consitution, WorldWiki, an application that gives maps and globes, Formulae, an application that provides every possible formula for science and maps students, a calendar application, a notetaking application, and more. He even shows the application "Classics", which could be a great resource to read books, including textbooks. iHomework allows students and teachers to communicate about homework.
Allen shows that the iPod touch could be further customized to show grades, calendar menus, and more school information. He shows that it could save money on things such as calculators, paper, and textbooks, and he says that it could save $600 (at least) per student for $150 per iSchool.
Travis Allen, now a student at Kentucky State University, travels around to help push the iSchool initiative with seminars. Towards the end of the second video, Allen says, "The simple truth is this: If we are going to thrive in the information age, we must rethink, retool, and rebuild our educational institution to better prepare our youth for the digital world we were born in to."
Wow. That's about all I can say about this video. I immediately posted the final quote given to my Facebook after watching - how incredibly true, and how wonderful that somebody my age could have already made such a difference! Honestly, I'm unsure as to why we haven't made this leap into technology yet, though I suspect fear is a large part of it. The idea of teachers being so incredibly accessible would be wonderful for students, and the idea of carrying around a small, less than one pound, mini computer is very appealing as opposed to multiple backpacks and books. This is probably the most impressive video I've seen in this course to date.
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
Eric Whitacre's use of the internet and technology is absolutely incredible. Funnily enough, this is not the first time I've seen something like this. Being a fan of musical theatre, I've seen videos where people have sung songs together via the internet and laid down the tracks together to create harmonies. That said, I've never seen anything of this magnitude. And this is just 185 people. Under the video, there is a link to "Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 2.0", where "Sleep" is performed by 2,085 people from fifty-eight different countries. Wow! What a way to connect with people from around the world! This is extremely impressive!
In the classroom, it might be fun for a choir or theatre teacher to try something like this. If the jobs were avaiable, I would probably actually be a music education major and would definitely love to try something like this. I'm about to email this video to my old choir teacher from high school.
"Teaching in the 21st Century"
Kevin Roberts' video "Teaching in the 21st Century" asks the simply question "What does it mean to teach in the 21st century". He starts by saying that teachers are obsolete if all they can provide is information, seeing as students have easy access to all kinds of information - we are now a filter, helping them how to go through information and use the information already given to them. He states that we should be teaching students skills - both life skills and technology skills - as opposed to simply facts and content.
The crux of his video seems to be that we should be teaching students how to use technology to obtain reliable data and to work together using technology. He states that we should be engaging students in their education, not simply teaching them.
I have actually always thought that it is astounding that our schools do not teach many life skills to student - skills such as how to change a tire, how to find housing and evaluate housing, and other realistic skills for life. Mr. Roberts seems to touch on that. I do love the idea of helping students obtain facts and content and evaluate sources, but I also feel that some facts and content must be taught. Basic principles of any core curriculum should be cemented into the head of students, though many of the higher concepts could be taught by simply teaching students how to obtain the information they need instead of having to burp it back.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Blog Post 4
"1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook"
The first article I read and podcast I listened to for this week's blog post was "1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook", by the Langwitches. The basic premise behind this activity was for teachers to turn popular children's books into scripts and allow the students to record the scripts and edit them (in this case, using GarageBand) to add sound effects and turn them into full-fledged audiobooks.
The writer was astounded at how engaged the students were with this activity, even going so far as to ask to edit and re-record parts of their recordings so that they were perfect. Furthermore, the students loved listening to themselves while following along with the script.
I feel like this was a wonderful activity to engage students and encourage them to be creative. Seeing as I am a Secondary Education / Science major, I would be more likely to use this in an activity where students are asked to create a song or rap to remember Chemistry formulas or something along those lines. On an elementary level, however, this could be a brilliant activity for multiple subjects - it encourages creativity and could help students remember important concepts.
"The benefits of podcasting in the classroom"
Next, I watched the video and read the article "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom", by Joe Dale. The video begins by explaining that teachers are now educating students who are called "millenials", meaning that they were born after the 1980s and thus have experienced life full of technology.
He explains that podcasting actually uses the upper levels of Bloom's Technology, and any teacher who's had a bit of training will tell you that that is encouraged to help students learn more effectively. Next, the video asked: "What's the benefit?". The first one that came to my mind, and also the first one that the video addressed, is to assist absent students. Students can download the podcasts for free through iTunes to help them keep from getting behind on their work.
The video also briefly touches on the use of blogs to upload podcasts and to facilitate conversation between students. The principal of the school featured in the clip also brings up that podcasting can allow parents to keep tabs on what is happening in the classroom, and as any teacher will tell you, parents will absolutely love that.
As previously stated, I do like the idea of using podcasts as projects for students to help them learn, but I like the idea of using them to assist absent students even more. I can think of one time in particular during my sophomore year of high school where I contracted a nasty case of bronchitis and missed eight days of school. Had podcasted lectures been avaliable, I would have had a much easier time catching up, particularly in U.S. History and Chemistry.
100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better
I found this list to be extremely informative, and not only because of the podcasting information. I have used Apple mp3 players since 2005, when I recieved an iPod mini. From there, I went through two iPod videos (lawnmower accident...), an iPod touch, and now I'm on my second iPhone. So yes, you could say I'm an Apple snob in that department. Some of these resources are amazing - such as Spark Charts and GoogleGet. However, for this assignment, I am to focus on the podcasting information.
My first thought upon seeing the ESL podcasts was that this could be a great resource for schools in a financial crunch. While there is no substitute for a caring and professional teacher, when a school may only have access to an ESL teacher two or three days a week (or less), this could be an excellent resource to help students retain information! Students, especially younger ones, would also enjoy getting to use the technology in the classroom.
Another one I liked was Mogopop - where one can "add notes, videos, and illustrations to audiobooks and study notes". What a brilliant application for elementary school students! Students could enjoy independant reading time and be read to by the iPod while still not losing out on the illustrations that young children long for. Brain Quest (which has different levels for grades 1-7) sounds wonderful as well for some fun, brain teaser time, perhaps if a student finishes an assignment early and needs something to temporarily hold his or her attention.
NPR Science Friday is another one that could be great, especially for the high school Science classroom, where I hope to be teaching someday. Instead of simply using repetitive, boring textbook units, students could listen to modern discussions about science and be on the cutting edge of what is going on.
Numbers twenty-eight and twenty-nine on the list could be excellent resources for us in this class and any teacher by teaching us how to create and manage podcasts. As previously mentioned, this could be a great tool to both encourage creativity and to help students who are forced to be absent from the classroom for whatever reason.
The first article I read and podcast I listened to for this week's blog post was "1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook", by the Langwitches. The basic premise behind this activity was for teachers to turn popular children's books into scripts and allow the students to record the scripts and edit them (in this case, using GarageBand) to add sound effects and turn them into full-fledged audiobooks.
The writer was astounded at how engaged the students were with this activity, even going so far as to ask to edit and re-record parts of their recordings so that they were perfect. Furthermore, the students loved listening to themselves while following along with the script.
I feel like this was a wonderful activity to engage students and encourage them to be creative. Seeing as I am a Secondary Education / Science major, I would be more likely to use this in an activity where students are asked to create a song or rap to remember Chemistry formulas or something along those lines. On an elementary level, however, this could be a brilliant activity for multiple subjects - it encourages creativity and could help students remember important concepts.
"The benefits of podcasting in the classroom"
Next, I watched the video and read the article "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom", by Joe Dale. The video begins by explaining that teachers are now educating students who are called "millenials", meaning that they were born after the 1980s and thus have experienced life full of technology.
He explains that podcasting actually uses the upper levels of Bloom's Technology, and any teacher who's had a bit of training will tell you that that is encouraged to help students learn more effectively. Next, the video asked: "What's the benefit?". The first one that came to my mind, and also the first one that the video addressed, is to assist absent students. Students can download the podcasts for free through iTunes to help them keep from getting behind on their work.
The video also briefly touches on the use of blogs to upload podcasts and to facilitate conversation between students. The principal of the school featured in the clip also brings up that podcasting can allow parents to keep tabs on what is happening in the classroom, and as any teacher will tell you, parents will absolutely love that.
As previously stated, I do like the idea of using podcasts as projects for students to help them learn, but I like the idea of using them to assist absent students even more. I can think of one time in particular during my sophomore year of high school where I contracted a nasty case of bronchitis and missed eight days of school. Had podcasted lectures been avaliable, I would have had a much easier time catching up, particularly in U.S. History and Chemistry.
100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better
I found this list to be extremely informative, and not only because of the podcasting information. I have used Apple mp3 players since 2005, when I recieved an iPod mini. From there, I went through two iPod videos (lawnmower accident...), an iPod touch, and now I'm on my second iPhone. So yes, you could say I'm an Apple snob in that department. Some of these resources are amazing - such as Spark Charts and GoogleGet. However, for this assignment, I am to focus on the podcasting information.
My first thought upon seeing the ESL podcasts was that this could be a great resource for schools in a financial crunch. While there is no substitute for a caring and professional teacher, when a school may only have access to an ESL teacher two or three days a week (or less), this could be an excellent resource to help students retain information! Students, especially younger ones, would also enjoy getting to use the technology in the classroom.
Another one I liked was Mogopop - where one can "add notes, videos, and illustrations to audiobooks and study notes". What a brilliant application for elementary school students! Students could enjoy independant reading time and be read to by the iPod while still not losing out on the illustrations that young children long for. Brain Quest (which has different levels for grades 1-7) sounds wonderful as well for some fun, brain teaser time, perhaps if a student finishes an assignment early and needs something to temporarily hold his or her attention.
NPR Science Friday is another one that could be great, especially for the high school Science classroom, where I hope to be teaching someday. Instead of simply using repetitive, boring textbook units, students could listen to modern discussions about science and be on the cutting edge of what is going on.
Numbers twenty-eight and twenty-nine on the list could be excellent resources for us in this class and any teacher by teaching us how to create and manage podcasts. As previously mentioned, this could be a great tool to both encourage creativity and to help students who are forced to be absent from the classroom for whatever reason.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Blog Post 3
Paige Ellis's Blog Assignment
I chose to offer my comments and critique suggestions to Lindsey Dunnam's Blog Post #2 in a public comment. Why? The positive in her post outweighed the negative and therefore I saw no reason to hide my praise and suggestions. Here is what I said about her post:
"I really enjoyed reading your opinions of the videos, Lindsey. I particularly like your example of your Computer technology class that was not as well done as Ms. Davis's. I might suggest that you combine some of your shorter sentences into compound or complex sentences to make your writing flow a bit better."
I feel that if one maintains a positive attitude of constructive criticism when critiquing writing, it helps prevent feelings being hurt. As I said previously, Lindsey's writing was well done, and my suggestion was simply a stylistic one, so there was no reason to be quiet about it.
If I came across a post that had serious grammatical errors, I might make my suggestions via e-mail as to not embarrass the writer.
It's Not About the Technology
In "It's Not about the Technology", Kelly Hines states that becoming a modern, up-to-date classroom is not all about having fancy, expensive technology. She makes the point that all teachers still need to be willing to learn if they wish to teach, and that they must help students learn, not simply teach thmem. The two are not the same thing.
I particularly like the outline Ms. Hines provides under the point "Be a 21st Century Teacher without the technology.", where she lists things such as "Creativity and Innovation" (flashback to Ken Robinson, anybody?) and "Information, Media, and Technology Skills", as well as "Life and Career Skills". The last one rings a bell with me, as I've always been shocked that we aren't taught things such as how to behave in an interview in school. I've always felt that a life skills class would be great for high schoolers.
Overall, I love what Ms. Hines has to say. Before we step into the future with technology, we have to step into the future with the way we teach and learn.
"Is it Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?"
In his award-winning post, Karl Fischer asks the question "Is it okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher?" In short, his answer is absolutely not. He gives a list of seven standards he has written for teachers; summarized, the list basically states that teachers should be technologically literate and that there should be accountability on the part of administrators and university teacher training courses to make sure that this is the case.
Perhaps my favorite quote from the whole list, though, is, "How long does it take for someone to wake up to the fact that technology is part of life, not an add-on?" Wow. I've never thought of it that way before, but it is absolutely the truth. We're at a point where one cannot decide whether or not to deal with technology, unless you want to lock yourself in a padded room. Fischer continues by speaking about the apparent apathy on the part of teachers about technology - teachers feeling that it's okay not to be familiar with technology. This is a scary thought.
He ends with this shocking sentence: "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." Wow. I do feel like it's a bit of an extreme statement, but in a strange way, it's not really. School is about preparing students for life, yes? And reading and writing are quite important. But now, one cannot get a job without knowing basics of technology. So I feel that he is correct - now we just need to get our bigwigs thinking that way.
Gary Hayes' Social Media Count
Watching Gary Hayes' Social Media Count is quite an eye-opener for anyone, especially someone who doesn't believe in technology. In any given ten-second span, over 120,000 items are shared on Facebook. In thirty second, twenty-five hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. Even more astounding, within a minute, one will see nearly 100,000 tweets. What does this say? Technology is growing, and it's growing fast. As educators, we need to get on the boat and use it to our advantage.
Teaching is all about using every tool you have to teach and inspire students to learn. Unfortunately, some teachers seem to find humor (yes, humor, as mentioned by Karl Fischer) in simply ignoring what might be the greatest tool available to them. Let's think about the Facebook numbers for a moment, shall we? It's 11:15 on Friday morning, and out of my 840 friends, 41 are currently online. That's about five percent of my friends who are accessible immediately at the click of a button.
Now here's a thought - what if as a teacher, I could leave my Facebook up and running and allow students to be my friend (perhaps on a special account just for school - not my personal life) and simply leave my chat up and running. If I hear a ding, I could check it and answer any questions. How awesome would that be for the student struggling with balancing equations in Chemistry? Maybe have "Virtual Office Hours" - Mr. Evans will be online nightly from 7:30-8:30 with exceptions posted on the whiteboard in class. I would have loved it with some of my math and science courses, I'll tell you that! We should learn to harness the ever-growing technology and use it to our advantage as teachers.
"A Vision of Students Today"
In the video "A Vision of Students Today", by Michael Wesch, the issue of non-modern education in a modern society is addressed. It begins by showing how education is not very interactive, with few teachers knowing students' name and students sitting silently in class, but then shows how a two-hundred student collaborative document was edited by all of the two-hundred students, some more than once.
It then goes on to show multiple issues and bad habits students have with education, such as not completing assigned readings and not showing up for class, and showing students' time management skills (or lack thereof). Finally, students tell us what they are doing with technology during class - and I assure you, it's not class work.
What does this mean for teachers? We should use technology as a means for helping students learn; clearly, students are very comfortable (for the most part) with technology and would probably learn better if it was integrated in the classroom. In this example, technology actually impedes on student learning. Let's change that and force it to help!
I chose to offer my comments and critique suggestions to Lindsey Dunnam's Blog Post #2 in a public comment. Why? The positive in her post outweighed the negative and therefore I saw no reason to hide my praise and suggestions. Here is what I said about her post:
"I really enjoyed reading your opinions of the videos, Lindsey. I particularly like your example of your Computer technology class that was not as well done as Ms. Davis's. I might suggest that you combine some of your shorter sentences into compound or complex sentences to make your writing flow a bit better."
I feel that if one maintains a positive attitude of constructive criticism when critiquing writing, it helps prevent feelings being hurt. As I said previously, Lindsey's writing was well done, and my suggestion was simply a stylistic one, so there was no reason to be quiet about it.
If I came across a post that had serious grammatical errors, I might make my suggestions via e-mail as to not embarrass the writer.
It's Not About the Technology
In "It's Not about the Technology", Kelly Hines states that becoming a modern, up-to-date classroom is not all about having fancy, expensive technology. She makes the point that all teachers still need to be willing to learn if they wish to teach, and that they must help students learn, not simply teach thmem. The two are not the same thing.
I particularly like the outline Ms. Hines provides under the point "Be a 21st Century Teacher without the technology.", where she lists things such as "Creativity and Innovation" (flashback to Ken Robinson, anybody?) and "Information, Media, and Technology Skills", as well as "Life and Career Skills". The last one rings a bell with me, as I've always been shocked that we aren't taught things such as how to behave in an interview in school. I've always felt that a life skills class would be great for high schoolers.
Overall, I love what Ms. Hines has to say. Before we step into the future with technology, we have to step into the future with the way we teach and learn.
"Is it Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?"
In his award-winning post, Karl Fischer asks the question "Is it okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher?" In short, his answer is absolutely not. He gives a list of seven standards he has written for teachers; summarized, the list basically states that teachers should be technologically literate and that there should be accountability on the part of administrators and university teacher training courses to make sure that this is the case.
Perhaps my favorite quote from the whole list, though, is, "How long does it take for someone to wake up to the fact that technology is part of life, not an add-on?" Wow. I've never thought of it that way before, but it is absolutely the truth. We're at a point where one cannot decide whether or not to deal with technology, unless you want to lock yourself in a padded room. Fischer continues by speaking about the apparent apathy on the part of teachers about technology - teachers feeling that it's okay not to be familiar with technology. This is a scary thought.
He ends with this shocking sentence: "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." Wow. I do feel like it's a bit of an extreme statement, but in a strange way, it's not really. School is about preparing students for life, yes? And reading and writing are quite important. But now, one cannot get a job without knowing basics of technology. So I feel that he is correct - now we just need to get our bigwigs thinking that way.
Gary Hayes' Social Media Count
Watching Gary Hayes' Social Media Count is quite an eye-opener for anyone, especially someone who doesn't believe in technology. In any given ten-second span, over 120,000 items are shared on Facebook. In thirty second, twenty-five hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. Even more astounding, within a minute, one will see nearly 100,000 tweets. What does this say? Technology is growing, and it's growing fast. As educators, we need to get on the boat and use it to our advantage.
Teaching is all about using every tool you have to teach and inspire students to learn. Unfortunately, some teachers seem to find humor (yes, humor, as mentioned by Karl Fischer) in simply ignoring what might be the greatest tool available to them. Let's think about the Facebook numbers for a moment, shall we? It's 11:15 on Friday morning, and out of my 840 friends, 41 are currently online. That's about five percent of my friends who are accessible immediately at the click of a button.
Now here's a thought - what if as a teacher, I could leave my Facebook up and running and allow students to be my friend (perhaps on a special account just for school - not my personal life) and simply leave my chat up and running. If I hear a ding, I could check it and answer any questions. How awesome would that be for the student struggling with balancing equations in Chemistry? Maybe have "Virtual Office Hours" - Mr. Evans will be online nightly from 7:30-8:30 with exceptions posted on the whiteboard in class. I would have loved it with some of my math and science courses, I'll tell you that! We should learn to harness the ever-growing technology and use it to our advantage as teachers.
"A Vision of Students Today"
In the video "A Vision of Students Today", by Michael Wesch, the issue of non-modern education in a modern society is addressed. It begins by showing how education is not very interactive, with few teachers knowing students' name and students sitting silently in class, but then shows how a two-hundred student collaborative document was edited by all of the two-hundred students, some more than once.
It then goes on to show multiple issues and bad habits students have with education, such as not completing assigned readings and not showing up for class, and showing students' time management skills (or lack thereof). Finally, students tell us what they are doing with technology during class - and I assure you, it's not class work.
What does this mean for teachers? We should use technology as a means for helping students learn; clearly, students are very comfortable (for the most part) with technology and would probably learn better if it was integrated in the classroom. In this example, technology actually impedes on student learning. Let's change that and force it to help!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Project 3: C4T #1
In my first C4T assignment, I read a post by John T. Spencer, a middle school teacher in Arizona, entitled "The Paradox of Parenting". Mr. Spencer has two major points in this post: many truths are actually paradoxical, and nobody knows it all.
He gives a fairly long list of paradoxical truths, such as "Stay safe but stay free" - all of which are assumed as true but seem contradictory. He speaks on the fact that all of these are true, but simply seem like they contradict themselves. Furthermore, Mr. Spencer makes it clear that when it comes to how to teach (and parent), nobody knows it all, no matter what they claim.
In my comment, I agreed with his points, stating that as educators, we cannot take a "my way or the highway" approach - each student learns differently, and we have to adapt to each student in order to teach them best.
For my second week with Mr. Spencer, I read the post "That's Not a Reading Strategy". He opens with an anecdote about how he hated reading about the founding fathers as a child - he found them boring and didn't relate to them. All that he could relate to were actual letters that they wrote, which actually gave them a sense of humanity, as did a book he found later, entitled Founding Brothers. This book allowed Mr. Spencer a more personal, human approach to the founding fathers, and made him think about and enjoy reading them more.
After sharing this, he shares a story about teachers in the lounge discussing whether or not they should teach personal connections as a reading strategy. "Will it be on the standardized tests?" they wonder. The two teachers actually come to the conclusion that they cannot teach personal connections because they do not have time because they will not be tested. Talk about teaching to the test!
I agree completely with Mr. Spencer that this is an absolutely deplorable approach. I could go on a tangent about the fact that teachers should not be put into the position of having so much based on test scores that they no longer have time to actually teach, but I shall not. As Mr. Spencer says, children will never continue to read and learn freely if we don't help them enjoy it and have a personal connection with it! Our job as educators is to help students learn and help them develop a passion for lifelong learning, not to simply teach them to recite random, unrelated, and often unimportant facts!
He gives a fairly long list of paradoxical truths, such as "Stay safe but stay free" - all of which are assumed as true but seem contradictory. He speaks on the fact that all of these are true, but simply seem like they contradict themselves. Furthermore, Mr. Spencer makes it clear that when it comes to how to teach (and parent), nobody knows it all, no matter what they claim.
In my comment, I agreed with his points, stating that as educators, we cannot take a "my way or the highway" approach - each student learns differently, and we have to adapt to each student in order to teach them best.
For my second week with Mr. Spencer, I read the post "That's Not a Reading Strategy". He opens with an anecdote about how he hated reading about the founding fathers as a child - he found them boring and didn't relate to them. All that he could relate to were actual letters that they wrote, which actually gave them a sense of humanity, as did a book he found later, entitled Founding Brothers. This book allowed Mr. Spencer a more personal, human approach to the founding fathers, and made him think about and enjoy reading them more.
After sharing this, he shares a story about teachers in the lounge discussing whether or not they should teach personal connections as a reading strategy. "Will it be on the standardized tests?" they wonder. The two teachers actually come to the conclusion that they cannot teach personal connections because they do not have time because they will not be tested. Talk about teaching to the test!
I agree completely with Mr. Spencer that this is an absolutely deplorable approach. I could go on a tangent about the fact that teachers should not be put into the position of having so much based on test scores that they no longer have time to actually teach, but I shall not. As Mr. Spencer says, children will never continue to read and learn freely if we don't help them enjoy it and have a personal connection with it! Our job as educators is to help students learn and help them develop a passion for lifelong learning, not to simply teach them to recite random, unrelated, and often unimportant facts!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Blog Post 2
Did you Know?
"Did You Know", by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Jeff Brenman, discusses two main points: Firstly, The job market is rapidly changing. One of the first statistics given in the video is that the top 10 in-demand jobs of 2008 didn't even exist in 2004. The video also shows how people generally don't say at jobs very long - 25% of employees had been with their companies less than a year and 50% had been there less than five years. Second, the video touches on the impact of information technology on the world. There were two stastics that shocked me more than others, though. One was, "If MySpace was a country, it would be the firth largest, with 200 million users.", and the second one was that the total number of texts each day exceeds the population of the planet. That simply blows my mind.
So what does this mean for the educator? We have to stay on top of the ever-changing world of technology. While we may be on top of it right now, we must also remember that we are the generation these technologies aim for - as we grow older, we must make an effort to stay familar with the same technologies our students use. Some of the best teachers I had in high school used Facebook and were accessible through Facebook outside of class - including occasionally to call us out for posting during their classes. We should strive to do the same - use the technology available to us to be the best teachers we can be.
"Mr. Winkle Wakes", by Mathew Needleman
"Mr. Winkle Wakes", a cartoon my Mathew Needleman, follows the fictional character Mr. Winkle as he wakes up from a one-hundred year sleep and begins to explore the world. Mr. Winkle is overwhelmed by the new technology in an office building and hospital, but feels right at home at school, which has changed only minutely.
The video shows Mr. Winkle as being quite happy with the school; however, this is very clearly a satire on how little our schools have advanced technologically. Yes, we use computers and have some modern conveniences, but not as much as the outside world.
Why? I see two reasons - money and fear. The money reasoning is obvious: technology is expensive, and in a budget crunch, the money is simply not there. However, the fear is inexcusable. I actually created a classroom website and forum for my 7th grade Gifted Class. It was private except to registered users, who had to be approved through myself or our teacher. What happened? The county IT department shut us down because it was "dangerous". I feel that the true danger is our fear of new technology.
That said, we are moving in the right direction. I know of a couple of Baldwin County schools that will be equipping all students with laptops in the Spring of this year. So there is hope - let's just hope our leaders see it through.
"Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity"
In the video "Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity", Ken Robinson talks about the tragedy of schools stifiling creativity. Why? Mr. Robinson asserts that one cannot be creative and original if he or she is afraid of being wrong. The problem? Schools quite strongly discourage being wrong, and therefore students are afraid to be creative at the risk of being wrong.
Mr. Robinson makes the bold assertion that "creativity is just as important as literacy and should be treated with the same status." He further goes on to speak about the hierearchy in education - every school puts math and language arts at the top, and it trickles all the way down to having fine arts at the bottom. Specifically, drama and dance are at the bottom. He asserts that this hierearchy is based on two ideas - what would be the most useful for industry and academic ability.
He further says that the primary and secondary education system is simply and long pathway to the universities; thus many creative children have their abilities stifled due to the hardcore academic priorities of the schools. He cites an example of a woman who is now a great contributor to musical theatre who couldn't sit still in school and was fortunate enough to be taken to a dance school. In the wrong hands; however, she might have been simply told to sit still and pay attention.
Finally, Mr. Robinson asserts that we should be educating the "whole being" of our children, not just the head and that we should not stifle creativity, but encourage it.
Mr. Robinson makes some excellent points in his video - creativity is not given much emphasis in school, and it's certainly understandable how students would fear being wrong - but I do have to respectfully disagree on one big point.
Creativity is not just as important as literacy. Call me old fashioned, but I do not buy into that. Why? As of the moment, one has MUCH more of a chance of getting a job if he or she is "book smart" in areas such as reading, math, and science, than if he or she is wishing to be a performer. It's sad, but it's true.
Furthermore, the jobs of schools should be to prepare students for life, correct? If that's the case, than we should be helping students attain skills needed to earn a job later in life and support themselves. While I wish that was possible through simply music or dance, I do not feel like it is. The jobs simply are not there.
That being said, I do hope that as a teacher, I never discourage creativity. I'd like to do many hands on projects where students are asked to choose the best way to model something, or perhaps even write a rap or a song to help remember some science conept. Creativity has a very good place in the classroom, we should just keep it in perspective with what is truly the priority.
Can U.S. Students Compete?
In the article and video "Can U.S. Students Compete", student Cecilia Gault of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps speaks to Ken Robinson on what we can learn from other countries that do well in education. Robinson feels that there should be more of a balance between science and art curriculum, that technology should play a greater role in classrooms, and that everybody is creative. He also stated (in the video) that he felt that everyone could be taught to be creative.
Sir Robinson says that intelligence is "very diverse" - it can be anything from solving problems to understand the world around you.
Gault also spoke to David Livermore, who is a research consultant at the Cultural Intelligence Center, who said that he wishes parents were more involved and that students traveled more to understand other countries.
I do agree with Sir Robinson on all of his main points - though as I've stated previously, I do see "traditional" subjects in education as more important, I do wish we had more arts and creativity interpolated in our core subjects. As stated previously also, I wish that we had more technology in our classrooms. I absolutely love his point that everyone is creative or can be taught to be - I've never thought of it before, but it is so true! Have you ever seen a kindergarten student who wouldn't draw pictures because he or she didn't know how? No! Some students simply become afraid of making mistakes and stop trying.
I also love the idea of student news reporters - perhaps as a science teacher, I could bring in an expert in the field to my classroom (such as a college professor) and allow students to interview him on upcoming topics of discussion - this allows for creativity and learning science all at once.
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
"Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" follows Vicki Davis, a teacher and IT Director as Westwood Schools in Georgia, who tries to connect students to technology and to the ouside world. She makes a very good point that when students are only taught with paper and pencil, only some students are going to succeed. She likes teaching several online skills, such as blogging, using wikis, and collaborating on products.
She encourages students to think for themselves instead of simply being taught by a teacher. She likes to allow students to think for themselves instead of simply being fed all of the content. Davis and another teacher (Lindsey) actually founded "Digiteen", an online program to teach students citizenship by connecting them online. It's a lot like a social network, in the sense that teachers and students connect and blog to each other.
Furthermore, Davis and Lindsey founded the flat classroom project, which allows students to collaborate write and create videos with other students all over the world. They even had a conference in the Middle East, which Davis and many of her students traveled to.
Ms. Davis actually reminded me a lot of Dr. Strange in her thinking - she seems to be firmly against burp-back education, which is commendable. The idea of having students teach each other is fantastic and encourages teamwork, which we all know is a very necessary skill in today's workplace. I wish that all schools could afford the technology to teach like this, but we are on the right track.
I also would commend the school district for allowing this to happen. As I've previously said, many schools are terrified of new technology and would never have allowed something like this to happen - they would claim blogging is too dangerous for students! Nothing is further from the truth. The real danger is the fact that we're producing technologically illiterate students who lack many skills needed for today's jobs.
"Did You Know", by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Jeff Brenman, discusses two main points: Firstly, The job market is rapidly changing. One of the first statistics given in the video is that the top 10 in-demand jobs of 2008 didn't even exist in 2004. The video also shows how people generally don't say at jobs very long - 25% of employees had been with their companies less than a year and 50% had been there less than five years. Second, the video touches on the impact of information technology on the world. There were two stastics that shocked me more than others, though. One was, "If MySpace was a country, it would be the firth largest, with 200 million users.", and the second one was that the total number of texts each day exceeds the population of the planet. That simply blows my mind.
So what does this mean for the educator? We have to stay on top of the ever-changing world of technology. While we may be on top of it right now, we must also remember that we are the generation these technologies aim for - as we grow older, we must make an effort to stay familar with the same technologies our students use. Some of the best teachers I had in high school used Facebook and were accessible through Facebook outside of class - including occasionally to call us out for posting during their classes. We should strive to do the same - use the technology available to us to be the best teachers we can be.
"Mr. Winkle Wakes", by Mathew Needleman
"Mr. Winkle Wakes", a cartoon my Mathew Needleman, follows the fictional character Mr. Winkle as he wakes up from a one-hundred year sleep and begins to explore the world. Mr. Winkle is overwhelmed by the new technology in an office building and hospital, but feels right at home at school, which has changed only minutely.
The video shows Mr. Winkle as being quite happy with the school; however, this is very clearly a satire on how little our schools have advanced technologically. Yes, we use computers and have some modern conveniences, but not as much as the outside world.
Why? I see two reasons - money and fear. The money reasoning is obvious: technology is expensive, and in a budget crunch, the money is simply not there. However, the fear is inexcusable. I actually created a classroom website and forum for my 7th grade Gifted Class. It was private except to registered users, who had to be approved through myself or our teacher. What happened? The county IT department shut us down because it was "dangerous". I feel that the true danger is our fear of new technology.
That said, we are moving in the right direction. I know of a couple of Baldwin County schools that will be equipping all students with laptops in the Spring of this year. So there is hope - let's just hope our leaders see it through.
"Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity"
In the video "Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity", Ken Robinson talks about the tragedy of schools stifiling creativity. Why? Mr. Robinson asserts that one cannot be creative and original if he or she is afraid of being wrong. The problem? Schools quite strongly discourage being wrong, and therefore students are afraid to be creative at the risk of being wrong.
Mr. Robinson makes the bold assertion that "creativity is just as important as literacy and should be treated with the same status." He further goes on to speak about the hierearchy in education - every school puts math and language arts at the top, and it trickles all the way down to having fine arts at the bottom. Specifically, drama and dance are at the bottom. He asserts that this hierearchy is based on two ideas - what would be the most useful for industry and academic ability.
He further says that the primary and secondary education system is simply and long pathway to the universities; thus many creative children have their abilities stifled due to the hardcore academic priorities of the schools. He cites an example of a woman who is now a great contributor to musical theatre who couldn't sit still in school and was fortunate enough to be taken to a dance school. In the wrong hands; however, she might have been simply told to sit still and pay attention.
Finally, Mr. Robinson asserts that we should be educating the "whole being" of our children, not just the head and that we should not stifle creativity, but encourage it.
Mr. Robinson makes some excellent points in his video - creativity is not given much emphasis in school, and it's certainly understandable how students would fear being wrong - but I do have to respectfully disagree on one big point.
Creativity is not just as important as literacy. Call me old fashioned, but I do not buy into that. Why? As of the moment, one has MUCH more of a chance of getting a job if he or she is "book smart" in areas such as reading, math, and science, than if he or she is wishing to be a performer. It's sad, but it's true.
Furthermore, the jobs of schools should be to prepare students for life, correct? If that's the case, than we should be helping students attain skills needed to earn a job later in life and support themselves. While I wish that was possible through simply music or dance, I do not feel like it is. The jobs simply are not there.
That being said, I do hope that as a teacher, I never discourage creativity. I'd like to do many hands on projects where students are asked to choose the best way to model something, or perhaps even write a rap or a song to help remember some science conept. Creativity has a very good place in the classroom, we should just keep it in perspective with what is truly the priority.
Can U.S. Students Compete?
In the article and video "Can U.S. Students Compete", student Cecilia Gault of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps speaks to Ken Robinson on what we can learn from other countries that do well in education. Robinson feels that there should be more of a balance between science and art curriculum, that technology should play a greater role in classrooms, and that everybody is creative. He also stated (in the video) that he felt that everyone could be taught to be creative.
Sir Robinson says that intelligence is "very diverse" - it can be anything from solving problems to understand the world around you.
Gault also spoke to David Livermore, who is a research consultant at the Cultural Intelligence Center, who said that he wishes parents were more involved and that students traveled more to understand other countries.
I do agree with Sir Robinson on all of his main points - though as I've stated previously, I do see "traditional" subjects in education as more important, I do wish we had more arts and creativity interpolated in our core subjects. As stated previously also, I wish that we had more technology in our classrooms. I absolutely love his point that everyone is creative or can be taught to be - I've never thought of it before, but it is so true! Have you ever seen a kindergarten student who wouldn't draw pictures because he or she didn't know how? No! Some students simply become afraid of making mistakes and stop trying.
I also love the idea of student news reporters - perhaps as a science teacher, I could bring in an expert in the field to my classroom (such as a college professor) and allow students to interview him on upcoming topics of discussion - this allows for creativity and learning science all at once.
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
"Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" follows Vicki Davis, a teacher and IT Director as Westwood Schools in Georgia, who tries to connect students to technology and to the ouside world. She makes a very good point that when students are only taught with paper and pencil, only some students are going to succeed. She likes teaching several online skills, such as blogging, using wikis, and collaborating on products.
She encourages students to think for themselves instead of simply being taught by a teacher. She likes to allow students to think for themselves instead of simply being fed all of the content. Davis and another teacher (Lindsey) actually founded "Digiteen", an online program to teach students citizenship by connecting them online. It's a lot like a social network, in the sense that teachers and students connect and blog to each other.
Furthermore, Davis and Lindsey founded the flat classroom project, which allows students to collaborate write and create videos with other students all over the world. They even had a conference in the Middle East, which Davis and many of her students traveled to.
Ms. Davis actually reminded me a lot of Dr. Strange in her thinking - she seems to be firmly against burp-back education, which is commendable. The idea of having students teach each other is fantastic and encourages teamwork, which we all know is a very necessary skill in today's workplace. I wish that all schools could afford the technology to teach like this, but we are on the right track.
I also would commend the school district for allowing this to happen. As I've previously said, many schools are terrified of new technology and would never have allowed something like this to happen - they would claim blogging is too dangerous for students! Nothing is further from the truth. The real danger is the fact that we're producing technologically illiterate students who lack many skills needed for today's jobs.
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