Blog Post #2

Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version

As I watched this video, my first reactions were that the beginning statistics were misleading. It shocked me to think that India would have more honor students than our entire student population together. It shocked me that there will be more people in China speaking English than the population of the United States. This is how I reasoned those two points: India and China both have a much larger population than America. That has to count for something right? Also, I recall from a business class my freshman year, it is extremely common for business people of different cultures to handle things in the English language. The example used in that class was that if a Japanese business man and a French business man were to do business, it would most likely be conducted in English. It is easier for people to have the same "back-up" language for communicative purposes. I think it is great that English is becoming a "universal" language. I think this is a great way to further lines of communication.

I was simply astonished at the information on technology use. I knew that technology had become a huge part of life for almost everyone, but I didn’t fully grasp the extent of use. This video was a real eye-opener. The last slide questioning my role as an educator was extremely effective in getting my thought process going.

I think that as an educator, I will really have my work cut out for me. While English is my subject of choice, I have come to recognize that there is much more to educating people than just developing a decent vocabulary and using good grammar. I hope that outside of basic English skills, I will be able to teach creativity, innovation, and most of all, an ability to learn. As we all know, just from the first week of EDM 310 with Dr. Strange, there is a major difference between being taught and learning.

If my students are creative, they will think outside of the box. They will be able to come up with newer and more effective ways to solve problems, or just make things run more efficiently. If they are innovative, they will be able to turn their thoughts into action, and if they are able to learn, they will gain useful knowledge from each mistake that they make. I won’t be around to teach them each new thing that they need to know, and I would like to be able to leave them in a better position to fend for themselves, so to speak.

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman

Satire is one of my favorite types of comedy. I think this way a great way to portray the point that Mr. Needleman was trying to make. While technology has advanced in almost every aspect life. Schools seem to be getting left behind. While I think this is mainly a funding problem, teachers also need to be technologically literate.

Even if we were to buy all of the best equipment, it would not do much good if the teachers refused to use it. There are many adults that still do not use technology to its full potential. My mom, for example, still won’t learn how to send a text message, or even use a computer. It isn’t that she can’t learn to do it, she just doesn’t recognize the usefulness.

The bottom line is, in my opinion, that schools need to catch up. Our teaching styles and methods need to change and improve. Compared to other aspects of life, (most) schools are still stuck in a stone age. Our student population is the future of our society. We need to leave them as prepared as possible.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

“We are educating people out of their creative capacities.” This line really stuck with me. I have to agree with Ken Robinson. Creativity is absolutely essential. We have become scared to make mistakes, to learn. Most of us have lost a great deal of our creativity over the years.

I can remember a time when I had an answer for everything. Of course, most of these answers were wrong, but I was willing to take a chance and give it a guess. After being corrected repeatedly, and having my ideas and creativity shot down, I gave into just trying to be correct. Now if I don’t know the answer to something, I immediately go to Google and find out what I want to know. I no longer spend time pondering, or fabricating theories of my own to solve unanswered questions.

After watching this video, I realized how much I would loathe “educating the creativeness out of my students”. I still firmly believe that we, as educators, should nurture creativity. Not only with our students, but also with ourselves. I feel as if learning should be viewed as a lifelong process. If we are to expect people to enjoy learning, they need to be creative and able to have fun with it.

Pinterest in the Classroom

Pinterest really is an amazing resource for discovering new ideas, tools, and methods. I imagine I will use this site frequently for lesson plan ideas and extras. I generally looked through Pinterest and did find some things that may not be appropriate for classroom settings. If there was a way to control what my students viewed, I would let them use it constantly. I would hate for any students to view material that would cause concern.

In the classroom, I will use it as often as possible. There are really wonderful things to be seen. I would like to be able to use a projector system (or perhaps something newer) to let the class view the things I choose. This way I know they are getting useful and appropriate information.