Dr. Scott McLeod's
Being of a "certain age" I can remember when there wasn't the internet for public usage. I remember when the Commodore 64 was "new" technology! My parents would not let
me or my older brother have one because it was a "tool of Satan". The other thing it was called was a "fad"! There were other parents around that same time frame that willingly purchased the Commodore 64 for their children and encouraged their children to use it. I think what Dr. McLeod is trying to say in his poem is that he loves the people that refuse to give their children the freedom to use technology as a learning tool. The reason he loves people that prevent their children from learning technological advances is because this gives his children a head start!
Dr. McLeod has pursued an interesting journey. It is not just his goal to educate children on technology it is his desire to educate educators on how to properly use technology. I believe his outlook on training technologically prepared educators is an advancement to our current state of educating teachers and administrators. If there were more professors that believed as Dr. McLeod and Dr. Strange our current and future educators would be more prepared for the future and the teachers would be able to better prepare our students!
Travis Allen is one smart dude! Don't believe me then click on his name above and see what a creative thinker he really is! Travis has envisioned schools using existing technology to rid the school of environmentally unfriendly waste. Something I have been trying to get through to my daughter's school for a while now! Since his video and the wide spread usage of e-readers, there is no reason for schools to require paper books. I have been urging my daughter's school to use as many e-books as possible. It hasn't been until this year that they are catching on to the idea.
Travis stole my idea about 3 years before I had the idea, and I saw his video just this week. What "free thinker"! Isn't that what they called our Founding Fathers of this great nation many, many years ago. Like Travis, our Founding Fathers idealized a "new" way of governing ourselves. Isn't it time for our education system to think of "new" (please read as already existing) ways of revitalizing our educational system and to discontinue waste? I think YES!
Mercy me! I watched this twice, then I went on YouTube and watched others. This is amazing! I love music so this moved me. Then, I started thinking... how could this work in the classroom? The possibilities are endless. Imagine a discussion of a novel being recorded individually then placed on one video to have a through - truly through-discussion. Or a virtual class for the day... or a virtual group book report or... well, the list could continue... Although I do love music I can see where there are possibilities for any subject, Math, Science, History, English, Music, Band, Theater... and on and on I go again. My head is swimming with ideas! Please click on the link to see the Choir.
Kevin Roberts
I truly enjoyed this presentation. I specifically enjoyed the points made about using tools the students are already familiar with and most likely already own to ENGAGE them in learning. Mr. Roberts makes many comparisons between entertainment and engagement. The one that I enjoyed the most was that entertainment uses someone else's creativity while engagement makes you creative. Educational administrators are having a hard time seeing cellular devices as useful tools in the classroom. I think that cellular devices are viewed much as graphic calculators used to be viewed in a math class or as a T.V. presentation was viewed in a history class.
If more administrations would be informed on how some of the personal technology could be used, I think they would allow cell phones in the class - if used properly. As an educator I must be open minded and always be willing to learn about the "newest fad" in technology. This is the only way educators can 1) understand the students 2) increase the desire to learn. By staying up to date on technology the students can be in awe of the teacher and the teacher can be in awe of the student's ability to be creative! My classroom will most certainly use "gizmos" and "gadgets" in the classroom, and I hope I will be allowed to use those same "gismos" and "gadgets" in my classroom assignments!
Hi Gina! I remember the name "Commodore 64". I just did not have one. Now I'm sharing my age. I too enjoyed the video from Kevin Roberts. He opened our eyes to the way we need to engage not just educate the students and to get them thinking. By having "gizmos" and "gadgets" in the classroom it does advance the student's educational realm. It also does help the students to become creative and use higher levels of thinking. The collaborative music video of Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir is absolutely awesome. Time, effort, and creativeness was put into this project and was well worth it. It definitely shows how technology can be integrated at any level with any means.
ReplyDeleteMcLeod: I don't think he "loves" parents who keep from using the internet. I think he feels sorry for them. His post is pure sarcasm!
ReplyDeleteWho is he?
Dr. Strange,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can agree that he is being sarcastic, I also believe there is a bit of truth in sarcasm. I know you meant for us all to see the sarcasm - I did, but the skeptic in me thought of it a bit differently too!