Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know?
In the video "Did You Know?" by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, numerous questions pertaining to the advancement of technology in this day and age are raised. They presented many interesting facts about the human growth rate, how students in the United States are being out performed by India and China, and the amount of intelligence we are acquiring at such an alarming rate.

Quite frankly the rate at which we are advancing technologically scares me sometimes. I will be the first one to advocate for the advancement of technology because I love science and I love having information readily available to me whenever I need or want it, however the interconnectivity of some social aspects of technology such as facebook and myspace unnerve me. While being able to communicate worldwide with anybody has its advantages, I also like my privacy. It feels to me as if we are trekking towards becoming one big global consciousness, which is all fine and dandy if that's your cup of tea, but I don't like the feeling of being forced into it. I can see how beneficial this is for large corporations, businesses, political parties and ventures of that nature, however It's almost impossible these days for the average Joe to live without being on social networking sites like facebook and twitter. This to me brings up the question of how have we changed as a human race with such readily available social technology? Do we act or even think the same as we would if we weren't so technologically infused socially? How does having access to all of our peers thoughts and emotions change the way we think and interact with them? Every so often I will receive messages via facebook, sms text, or some other form of communication from friends asking if I'm ok, if I don't like them any more, or If we're even still friends because I haven't talked to them via a social networking site in the last few weeks. My response to these people is that I'm just fine and if they really wanted to contact me why they couldn't just pick up the phone and call to schedule a hangout or just chat! This has actually infuriated me to the point of deleting my profiles on numerous social networking sites multiple times! Unfortunately the social media monster has grown so large that I keep having to sign up for these sites again for various reasons. Is it too much to ask for a little privacy without being labeled socially inept or reclusive? Are people who like their privacy and prefer actual face to face human interaction to meet and learn about people just a dying breed? I suppose we're just a changing society and the only future will tell.

Mr. Winkle Wakes:
In the video Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman, Mr. Winkle is an old man that awakes from a 100 year slumber. He finds himself thrust into a technological world leaps and bounds ahead of where society was pre slumber. He ventures into a business office and a hospital only to be discomforted by what he finds, a world filled with foreign machines and technology. Eventually he wanders into a school classroom to see that it however is unchanged by the hands of time which comforts him.

This video was very interesting and brought up some interesting points. My first thought after watching it was, "How would I feel if I were to hibernate for a century then wake up to see how the world has changed." At first the thought was quite funny, however upon further introspection I believe it would be quite frightening. My thoughts instantly turned into being thrust into a post apocalyptic type of world that you would find in a science fiction film such as Terminator or The Matrix, but when you think about it isn't that sort of where we are headed as technology continues to grow exponentially? Following along with this thought process its very easy to side with Mr. Winkle and be happy that technology didn't reach the classroom. The opposite thought also has to be considered however. How could technology improve education and the classroom? While I personally enjoy the traditional style lecturing and taking notes between teacher and student, I believe technology can have a profound impact on the learning of children today. Many children today are raised in a technology filled home and know how to use computers and electronics with ease. In this regard doesn't it make sense then to incorporate technology into their academic lives as well? These days so many kids use technology on a regular basis that I believe it will actually be easier to reach their minds and teach them through technology. That's not to say that a traditional lecture won't hurt them either, but I believe a combination of traditional teaching and technology could benefit both professor and student. I myself plan to use both to my advantage and try to reach my kids in the way that will best help them learn when I become a teacher. It's important to remember that different people learn different ways, so when in doubt be flexible and ready to adapt to change because with the way technology is growing there is bound to be a lot of change to come.

Sir Ken Robinson on The Importance of Creativity:
In this video Sir Ken Robinson speaks on the importance of creativity in education and how the education system needs to be restructured. He is very humorous yet frank in his views which makes the presentation very easy to watch and helps strengthen his points on creativity. He talks about the structure of education and how we educate children in the sense of trying to mold them into "university professors." He stresses that this archaic style of educating squanders creativity which is bad for children because it limits what they could do with their talents to enhance the world.

My favorite part of the presentation was when Sir Ken told the story of Gillian Lynne. He did this to make a point that by discouraging rather than encouraging the things that make kids diverse and creative that we will actually create problems for our future generations and suppress talents that children could excel in. I believe this to be 100% true and I believe we should embrace the talents that make us unique. By embracing and promoting these talents in children I believe it can actually enhance their academic success and educational experience. By promoting personal growth and learning in areas of interest to students those study skills and learning techniques could be applied to other academic disciplines. By that I mean If we teach children from an early age to teach themselves and seek learning on their own in areas that they are naturally interested in they will have the skills necessary from an early age to teach themselves in disciplines they are less naturally inclined to enjoy. There is an old saying that goes, "give a man a fish and he'll be full for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll be full for a lifetime. Teaching our children to fish in their education is better than feeding them everyday until they graduate high school only to figure out they have not learned what to do to be successful AND happy.

Can U.S. Students Compete?
In this post Cecilia Gault interviews Sir Ken Robinson on how education can change to meet the needs of the 21st century. Sir Ken Robinson address this by saying we need to make better use of technology and have more of a balance between the science and creative arts. He also addresses his three myths of creativity that are 1. Only certain people are creative, 2. Creativity is only applies to certain fields, and 3. That you must be born creative. The post also addresses how Finland has better scores in reading, science, and math while having shorter school days and a lower drop out rate than the U.S.

Sir Ken Robinson suggest that all students and teachers can benefit from traveling to increase their cultural intelligence. I believe this to be true as well as what Sir Ken said about the myths of creativity. I believe by combining cultural knowledge and individual creativity all teachers and students can further their overall knowledge by learning from one another. As technology continues to grow and improve this becomes more of a reality. As Sir Ken also emphasized, this is why there needs to be more of a union of technology and education. With this union we will all be able to learn more from one another culturally, academically, and creatively!

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts:
In this video Vicki Davis talks about her classroom and her method of teaching, which is much like Dr. Strange's. She encourages her students to be proactive in the learning process and teach themselves. They work on projects, blogs, video podcasts, and virtual simulation fields that connect them with students from all around the world. Through technology Mrs. Davis has her rural Georgian students interacting and learning in ways that some people never would have imagined.

It was quite refreshing watching this particular video of Vicki Davis' class. I will admit that I was actually quite jealous of her students as they seemed to be having a lot of fun in their classroom. It's wonderful to see just how enthusiastic and excited they were about learning! This video is a testament to how using technology in the classroom can enhance and promote and strong, positive, and healthy learning environment. I believe the future of education is likely headed in this direction which will be a positive and much needed change.