Blog Assignment 2

Did You Know?


As I watched this video I was amazed by the facts presented behind technology in today’s life. It is a true eye opener to see how rapid the technology in our lives is growing. I think that it is important to stay up-to-date with technology considering it’s exponential growth rate in the world today. When he states the fact telling us that “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet” and “In order to solve problems we don’t even know yet,” that is what amazes me because as difficult as it is to think that, it is true. It is shocking to believe that in the future everyone in the world will be connected via internet, when in the past generations people lived without even knowing how to turn on a computer.

Another interesting fact that was stated in the video is it’s predicted that by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species, I could not imagine there will actually be a computer capable of doing so. This video is full of interesting facts and knowledge about the world, that people in today’s life don’t even realize yet. I know technology is steadily increasing through out the world, what I didn’t know was how it will effect everyone’s life in one way or another very soon. It seems that at the rapid rate of internet usage one day we will all be connected as one.



Mr. Winkle Wakes

This movie was pretty interesting considering when Mr. Winkle wakes up the only thing remaining the same after a hundred years is the school systems. I feel that many elders in today’s society can relate to Mr. Winkle. Everything shown in the video are things that are happening in today’s life and I honestly think it is sad that after a hundred years teachers are still using the same techniques of teaching in the classroom.

In the video Mr. Winkle mentions that in the back of the classroom there is a dusty laptop that seems to rarely be used. The world around us is using computers for almost anything and everything, so why would there be a classroom consisting of only one laptop in the first place? I think there should be computers available for every student in a classroom, and instead of the regular daily lecture the student can learn not only from the teacher but how to be technically literate as well. If I were to fall asleep today and wake up in a hundreds years I would hope to find that the schools are not the same!



The Importance of creativity

At first I was not sure if I was going to like this video, but towards the end it caught my attention. Ken Robinson made some very interesting points throughout the video, my favorite one being when he was explaining the story about the dancer he mentions instead of the doctor diagnosing her with ADD, which in today’s case the doctor most likely would, he simply tells the girl’s mother nothing is wrong and the girl just needs to dance. Many children are now diagnosed with ADD or ADHD for whatever the reason being either the child is too loud, too hyper, or can’t pay attention. In my opinion yes, some children may actually have the disease, but in most all cases aren’t children supposed to be loud, playful, and full of energy? I believe Mr. Robinson has a great point in explaining how school systems only focus on the basics vs. teaching children how to express themselves in their own way.

It is also mentioned in the video that we are preparing students for a life that even we don’t know what is going to be like in the future, so why limit children in a classroom. I was never very talented in arts, but I was very good at a sport called inline speed skating. In 2006 when I was sixteen years old I made the USA inline speed skating team and felt so honored considering only the top eight girls in the country made it. I got to travel to South Korea that year and ended up getting fourth place in the world for my race. Racing was an experience of a lifetime, I got to travel, meet new people, and I was doing something I loved and was actually great at. I eventually quit skating because everyone stressed the fact that school is more important, and skating would bring me no where since it was not a college sport, isn’t in the Olympics, and it would be hard to make a career out of it. To this very day I regret quitting, but I’m also in my third year of college and trying to get my degree. Hopefully in the future I will be able to convince myself that I have made the right choice. We as young adults are taught that school is considered to be the most important thing in our life and in order to have a good future we must have a college education, but just like Ken Robinson mentioned in the video what if Picasso was pushed away from art to study math!



Harness your students’ digital smarts

This is a video all teachers and educators of the future should watch. During the video Vicki Davis explains why it is important for students to use technology in the classroom. Vicki makes a statement saying when students have only paper and pencil in the classroom then only certain types of children will succeed, and I strongly agree with her. I think it is important that students are more hands on with computers and learn more independently, because therefore a teacher can be sure the student is learning and being hands on.

Using computers in the classroom also makes it more interesting for the students vs. the students sitting in a desk and listening to a lecture. There are multiple ways a teacher can educate their students, but Vicki Davis has come up with a very good strategy shown in the video to keep her students on top of their game. This video makes me wonder how I’ll teach my students once I become a teacher.