Blog Assignment 2

                                       

Did You Know

        In Dr. Strange's video Did You Know the question "Are you ready to be an educator?" was presented. Prior to EDM310 I believed I had a pretty good grasp on what a teacher was expected to do. Little did I know how unprepared I was. That is about to change for me. Figures don't lie. America, from an educational standpoint, has a lot of catching up to do.

India has more K-12 Honors students than the US has K-12 students

        First question that comes to mind is "Why? The second should be "What is being done about this? For starters I will not only complete this educational media course but will have to continue seeking out, engage in and build upon new technology prospects. Today's educators must be technologically literate to engage, inspire, encourage, and yes, entertain their students. The US can not continue to fall behind academically and as educators we are responsible for leading the way.

There are more Chinese speaking English as a second language than the total population of the US.

        That is great news! One common language and it is ours. As long as our educational results rival those of other countries then the playing field is leveled. Unfortunantly this does not seem to be the case as stated above. Technology is advancing at a dizzying pace. We as future educators must embrace it and use it to prepare our students for what is yet to come. Prior to this course I believed I knew the teacher's role. I now know that I was sorely mistaken. I have a lot of ground to catch up on.
        I have three daughters, 20-24 years old, currently sharing a phone plan. Ten days into a new cycle they sent 2200 SMS messages. The youngest, 20 years old, was responsible for 1200 of them. For an average month she will rack up over 7,000. They have iPhones with data plans, and MACs. They were fully functional in less than a few hours. I have an eight year old relative who is just as tech savy as my daughters.
        This generation is already enthusiastic for new innovation. But if the teacher is not developing and encouraging this inquisitive nature then the students in the US will continue to fall behind. Technology in the classroom is not the magic bullet to solve the looming crises in education system. Technology alone can only be as useful as the individual who understands and uses it.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

        The humorous satire in Mr. Winkle Wakes is not difficult to miss. Mr. Winkle wakes from a 100 year nap and is overwhelmed by the changes in the professional world. He eventually finds a school classroom that does not seem to have changed much since his time. True, there is a lot of comfort in the familiar. And there is plenty of discomfort and confusion when facing newness.
        For some people new concepts are at first easily seen as strange and alien and just too difficult to understand. Case in point: EDM310. Faced with this uncertainty what is one to do in this rapidly innovative technological age but to seek out, embrace, and integrate with it. Mr Winkle may prefer to live in a Mobius strip world where nothing changes. This narrow view of the world is stifling, nonproductive and in the end simply quite lonely.. Mr. Winkle was for all practical purposes left behind and was forced to find somewhere where he fit in. The prospects for his ongoing happiness do not look promising in the long run.
        Mr. Winkle can not in reality be expected to mainstream in the business or medical communities advanced technologies without some amount of stress. He had no learning curve. No background to build from for even basic appreciation of the world around him after his 100 year nap. Mr. Winkle is a modern day dinosaur. As educators we must make sure our students minds and abilities are evolving with the times. This means we too must step out of our comfort zones and embrace new ideas and concepts regularly. Case in point: EDM310. Hopefully we will not end up in the hospital or deadend classroom as Mr. Winkle did due to stress avoidance. There is a better solution and the answers are out there if we chose to inquire, practice, and help each other along the way.

The Importance of Creativity

         Sir Ken Robinson's humorous lecture The Importance of Creativity delivers the unfortunant lesson that the educational system is not adequately preparing youth for the real world anymore. He states that the school systems original goal was to meet the needs of a growing industrial economy. This tactic has all but removed the budding creativity of students around the world. Educators are focused on filling the head with knowledge at the detriment of the rest of the body. Math, language, and humanities are just a portion of a complete education. Engaging the individual's unique talents educates the mind and body creating a well rounded individual.
         Sir Robinson states that we are educating our youth to face a world that quite honestly we can not grasp because it is changing so rapidly. The unknown future is not the problem. Not educating the entire person is the issue. He points to the lesser suject taught in schools as being within the arts curriculum: art, music, drama and dance. When coupled equally with the subjects of math, language, and humanities the entire person is now purposefully engaged. A fair amount of creativity is needed in todays technologically advanced world. The industrial revolution has been surpassed by a faster paced technologically advancing world as a whole. ducators must support and ncourage the student's natural creativity and imagination to ensure their success in the ever changing future.

A Vision of 21st Century Learning

        The overall school system in the US has not evolved along with todays advances in technology according to A Vision of 21st Century Learning. Many children are using some form of technology proir to Kindergarten and are eager to expand on their budding knowledge base. This video brings to our attention that students are missing out on stimulating, interactive programs in the classroom. These programs could possibly be capable of enhancing their viability within their future work environments essentially creating a more globaly prepared US workforce.
         I agree that integrating some form of technology into the classrooms would be a positive step forward compared to the ...drill, drill, drill and test... models that have been around since the early 1900s. Dr. Strange refers to this as "burp back" education. Amusing and it gets his point across. I also feel that brand new computers, iPads, iBooks, or white boards for example will not take the place or improve on a nonengaging instructor. There seems to be a lot of room for improvement within our school system. Technology similar to what is more than likely already in the home would be the direction to explore. The initial and continued funding for such programs, upgrades, and repairs concerns me somewhat. Too many programs are being cut in our school systems already due to lack of funding. I do not know what the US can afford to do without. I do know that our students deserve engaged, enthusiastic, empowered, and multi-literate educators. I can't help but wonder if other universities are preparing their preservice teachers to actively bring more user friendly and creative programs into their classrooms.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

        Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts protrays rural Georgia teacher Vicki Davis and her ideas on using technology not just pencil and paper in the classroom. She has developed a plan that focuses on: student self empowerment, success through a multiple media system, and peer collaboration with special attention to building student's strengths and diminishing weaknesses.
        This technology based learning atmosphere benefits the entire student not just educationally but also mentally, socially, and creatively. By empowering the student to find the answer she in effect developing a more self confident, inquisitive, well rounded human being. Vicki Davis has brought her rural school in Georgia well into the 21st century. Students definitely need more educators with her drive and creativity. Having the resources is not enough.