This video was definitely an eye opener as to how important technology is in the classroom. According to the video, over 1.3 million searches are made on Google every minute, and over 11 million SMS messages are sent worldwide every minute. The video also mentioned that in the Fall of 2012, 100% of EDM310 students had cell phones and averaged 108 text messages a day. Another incredible fact was that three years ago 93% of all 8-18 year olds in the United States had computers in their homes. I can only imagine how much that percentage has increased in three years.
As is evident from the video, we live in a world where technology is continuously changing. The video also asked a thought provoking question about what our role is as educators in preparing students for jobs that require technology which has not yet been invented. As a future educator, my job is to be up to date on technology that is being used in the classroom. I need to be aware of how this new technology will be used in the real world and demonstrate to my students how to use this technology.
Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman (2:51)
Mr. Winkle Wakes was a humorous video about a man who wakes up after one hundred years only to find that the world he once knew has now drastically changed. People can now chat through computers, people are kept alive by machines in hospitals, and Mr. Winkle is overwhelmed. He walked into a school where students were being lectured, and Mr. Winkle finally felt at home because school did not use all the technology that the rest of the world used.
This video was an entertaining way to show how far behind some schools are in terms in technology. Some schools do not have the funds to incorporate Smartboards and other pieces of technology into every classroom. Also, some teachers do not know enough about technology to actually be able to incorporate it into their lessons. However, I do think that schools are finally beginning to change. Some schools now provide the students with iPads and laptops to utilize throughout the year. From EDM310, I have discovered that many schools incorporate technology. Some students now blog as part of their assignments. Mr. Winkle may soon find that schools are changing after all.
Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity (19:21)
I enjoyed watching Ken Robinson's video The Importance of Creativity. In his video, he discusses how education is destroying the creativity of children. Ken Robinson believes that creativity is as important in education as literacy, and it should be treated with the same importance. He also said that every school, no matter where in the world, has the same emphasis placed on certain subjects with math and science being the most important and the arts being placed on the bottom. He shared with the audience that many people who are intelligent and talented think they are not because the things they value and enjoy are not made important in the school system.
I agree with what Ken Robinson discussed in his video. Creativity is important. Schools place a lot of emphasis on math, science, and english. However, the arts are not viewed as an important part of education, so they are placed to the side. Personally, I love and enjoy math, but I know not all of my students will like math. So, I need to incorporate things into my lessons that will allow students to utilize their creative side while still learning. Every student has a talent. Whether that talent is math, science, english, dancing, drawing, singing, or playing an instrument, that talent should be developed. Teachers need to allow students to be creative in the classroom. This could be done by incorporating projects into the lesson. These projects could be something that allows students to use their creative talents.
In light of the Mr. Winkle Wakes movie, I think that schools are similar to the schools discussed in Ken Robinson's video. This is not because of the lack of technology but because of the lack of acceptance for the arts. When Mr. Winkle woke up after 100 years, he did not like the change that he saw. He was closed minded towards technology. Mr. Winkle could not see how technology had made the world easier. For example the computers made it easier to speak with someone over long distances, and the hospital Mr. Winkle did not like actually helps save lives. This is similar to the school system discussed by Ken Robinson. For years, emphasis has been placed on math and science because we live in a world driven by industry. The arts fail to be seen as important by many people in the school system.
Not every student was meant to be great at math, chemistry, or literature. Some students are great at drawing, creative dance, or singing. Schools need to stray away from Mr. Winkle's mentality that change is bad. Schools need to encourage students to develop their creative side. Students may would consider school fun if they could spend some time developing their talents and doing things in which they could excel.
I definitely found the lesson plan and organization ideas for using Pinterest in education to be very useful. I could see myself using these ideas in my classroom. The lesson plan ideas would be useful because if I find a resource I would like to use in the future, I could pin it to my board, and it would be saved on my board until I need it. Also, it would be a great way to keep my ideas organized because I can create different boards for different units and will be able to find my resources when I need them.
I decided to follow Melissa Alonzo- Dillard's Smartboard page. This had a lot of great ideas on Pinterest for Smartboards. There were some interesting math games and ideas pinned. It also has a Jeopardy game which would be great for whatever subject is being taught. I could keep changing the questions for each unit I covered. It would also be a great way to review topics, and students would enjoy competing against their classmates.
Pinterest would definitely be useful for both me and my students in the classroom. I can use Pinterest to browse for ideas, and I can pin those ideas to my board where I will have them when I need them. Pinterest would also be useful because it allows me to see different ideas from other educators and incorporate those ideas into my classroom. I also found Bulletin Board ideas. One idea that would be fun for students was an interactive Bulletin Board. This board would be great for Algebra students. It allowed students to randomly select ordered pairs for two points. The students then would place the points on the coordinate plane and form the line made by the two points. Students then would be asked to find the slope of the line. This would be a fun project and would help students learn how to plot points on a coordinate plane, find the slope of the line, and even find the equation of the line. Pinterest is full of great ideas for the classroom.
