Blog Assignment 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
Dr. Scott McLeod is a professor and leader in the world of educational technology. In his blog post from August 26, 2009, he poses a satirical situation, in which he is asking parents, teachers, administrators, and board members to basically deprive their children and students of technological skills. He argues that we shouldn’t be teaching them about technology because the world really isn’t changing that much and they won’t really need to know about it in the future anyways. By approaching this topic with a sarcastic and satirical tone, it adds to the absurdity of the belief that we do not need to teach our kids technology. Dr. McLeod ends his post with an interesting statement: “I’m doing it with all of my kids, can’t wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two”. I definitely believe that those children who are being exposed to technology and encouraged to explore its benefits will definitely have a leg up in the future.

The iSchool Initiative
This video, made by a high school student in Georgia, is certainly interesting and very creative. Because of the lack of money available in our schools, he proposes a plan to revolutionize education in America. It’s called the iSchool Initiative and he suggests that in the future, an iTouch can replace schools. It will save massive amounts of money instantly because it will replace the need for students to buy books, agendas, and ink and paper costs will go down. He also believes that it will have a positive impact of the environment. He intends to have all sectors work together to allow teachers to have instant access to their classes, to allow parents to monitor their students, and to give students all of the personalized educational tools they need for success.
This is a great plan and a very impressive presentation put forward, but I am somewhat skeptical of this plan. While I completely believe in the benefits of technology, I also believe in the benefit of face-to-face student interaction with other students and teachers. I’m not sure if the iSchool Initiative would take the place of the physical school classroom, but I think classrooms and teachers are an essential part of the educational process. I’m not just saying that because I hope to have a job in the future either!

The Lost Generation
The technique used in this video is amazing. The first time the script is read in the first half of the video, I had a sense of hopelessness and the anonymity was disheartening. We have all heard reports of how our society is changing and our generation is selfish and uncaring. Hope is restored, however, through the creativity of the author. Once it is “rewound” and a different spin is put on the words, our generation is turned around.
I most definitely feel like we can still “rewind” if we just get creative and take a different look at things. This is what I feel the creators of the video were intending. They want us to see that nothing is permanent and we have the power to change our destiny if we just think outside the box. We can’t just accept the things that society is telling us about our generation. We are ultimately responsible for our actions and we have the power to make the changes. We can’t just sit back and accept the things that are being reported. I think education could be an important part of this. We still can help to instill certain values in our children and teach them about the world around us.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
This is such a great example of how technology is being used and changing our world! We are given this beautiful ensemble that may have not been formed if it had not been for the internet and technological software. It was a powerful choice to have a visual component as well. The images of the individual singers in their own homes show how connected our world can become if we take full advantage of the internet and technology.
As teachers, we should always be ready to take advantage of the internet. It can connect our students to the world around them and show them other cultures outside of their classrooms. Examples like this can show our students that they are not the only ones in the world. It helps to show students as well as ourselves that there is so much out there that can still be discovered and we are only a small part of our world.

Teaching In The 21st Century
I think this video is important because it is recognizing the value of teachers in addition to the need for technology. To teach in the 21st century means to allow our students to use any sources necessary to gather information and then think for themselves and form their own opinions. It will be our job to help students develop skills of higher level thinking. We will show our students how to properly use the internet, how to recognize pirating and reliable sources, and about professionalism. To teach will mean to show students that information cannot simply be blindly accepted.
I think that these positions expressed in this video are extremely important. Our students will definitely be using the internet and we have to teach them how to use it. Even though our students will have information constantly and readily available to them, it is still our job to teach them how to use it and how to form their own opinions and synthesize the facts. I especially related to the part about how to manage internet use in the classroom. The creators of this video said that you manage it the same way as other distractions that are tempting. We as educators can’t just block our the internet in our classrooms because we think our students are going to misuse it and get on social networking sites.