Blog Post #5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?

Dr. Scott McLeod Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is also the founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. This foundation is commonly called CASTlE and it is the only academic center designed for technology needs of school administrators. He is also considered by many to be one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issue. He is also creator of a wildly popular video series called "Did You Know? (Shift Happens."

In his post Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please? Dr. McLeod appears to be asking parents to stop teaching the kids anything technologically related. However, after continuing to read his post it becomes clear that he is saying everything sarcastically. I found his method of delivering his point of view very interesting. He basically believes that by sheltering kids from technology because of the risks that may arise is hindering them and give other kids an upper hand. I must agree with Dr. McLeod because technology is only advancing with time. Instead of trying to block kids from reaching technology, we should embrace it and utilizes the many tools that come with it in order to motivate them to learn.

The iSchool Initiative

In the video The iSchool Initiative a high school senior named Travis Allen believes he may have found the solution to major cuts in the education system. His solution is mobile learning. He argues that by switching over to mobile learning that we can save students a minimum of $600 per student. Using mobile learning, there would be no longer need for paper, pencils, expensive machines, etc. Also, students will be able to control assignments through email.

I must admit that Mr. Allen makes a very compelling argument. Education is one of the main things being put aside these days. Teachers are being cut and schools are losing funding. Using this new method, it could be possible to save the education system. Schools would no longer have to pay for books and other things. Also, it would be easy to monitor students and their assignments through certain programs and tools. I found this video to be very powerful and enlightening. I suggest anyone who would like to learn more about mobile learning to view this video and also some of his other videos.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

After viewing the video Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir, I was astounded of how beautifully everything came together. The most amazing thing is that these people never even met or performed together before. It shows how vast the use of the internet can be and also the many capabilities it has. Technology is a wonderful thing. When used to its full advantage, there is no limit of what can be done.

Teaching in the 21st Century

In the video, Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts and formatted into a movie by Dr. John Strange, Mr. Roberts explains that teaching is not just about stating facts in front of a classroom. By doing this we are just saying things to our students in repetition and hoping that eventually it will stick. However, in doing so the students will soon one day forget. We should encourage students to use outside resources to help then learn. There are many ways that students can get extra information on material being learned other than from hearing them from the teachers. This could be from using Google to research things or even using social media to learn from each other. We should encourage students to use the full advantages of what is available to them.

Reading Rockets

After reviewing the site, Reading Rockets I found that this site is very useful not only for teachers, but for students, principals, librarians, as well as other professions. As a teacher, I found that the section dedicated to classroom strategy is a very useful source. It covers topics such as vocabulary, phonetics, and comprehension as well as other topics. It also has a chart that allows the teacher to monitor a students progress as they go through each step of the processes. This is a very helpful section to utilizes when helping students learn.

Another portion of this site I found that I could utilizes as a teacher is the section for struggling readers. In this section, they have a part for helping teachers target the problem and also a part for tutoring. In the "Target the Problem" section, it breaks down what the problem may be into sections, such as vocabulary, comprehension, etc. This helps to really "hone in" on the actual problem itself. Also this allows the student to practice specifics things. In the "Tutoring" section, it shows how the teacher, and even parents should approach trying to help build the students reading fundamentals. It also provides articles that teachers and parents can read to handle certain situations like if a student gets a bad grade or how to help struggling readers.