Blog Assignment 2

“Did You Know 3.0” by Dr. Strange

In this video, Did You Know? John Strange, concerned are brought up about the future of the U.S. population in the job market. It is shown that currently Indian students are performing better in school than U.S. students. The video shows how in the future it is likely that the 300 million English learning Chinese will outnumber the U.S. population. In the video we learn that the top paying jobs in the future are going to use technology that has not been invented yet.

All of this information brings about concerns for the future of the U.S. How can we keep up with changing technology? The way to keep up with changing technology is to master current technology and continue learning. We must not let student’s fall behind or many jobs will be lost to those who studied and used technology on a daily basis. Technology changes constantly and we need to encourage students to use technology every day.

“Mr. Winkle Wakes” by Mathew Needleman

The video, Mr. Winkle Wakes, is about a man who wakes up after one-hundred years to find a world filled with technology. He walks to a tall building to and finds computers. He thinks that they make funny foreign noises and leaves. Then he goes to a hospital to see that machines are used to keep people alive, lasers are used in surgery and more. All of the change is too much for Mr. Winkle. He finally finds a school where he feels so familiar. All the students sit in neat rows listening to lectures all day. Mr. Winkle likes it there all except the funny lab top machine in the back of the classroom.

I found the video to be humorous and troubling at the same time. It shows that one of the only areas where technology is not being used to its potential is school. School has been the same way for many years. One usually does not think about school and how it has been left behind in the changing world. How can we use technology to change the way student’s learn? It is important to recognize that the way we have been learning cannot be the best way. If it were so we would lead the world in education. Something must be done if we are to keep up with the changing world.

Ken Robinson’s “The Importance of Creativity”

In Ken Robinson’s, The Importance of Creativity, He claims that “creativity is as important as literacy”. One of the main points of the video is that the education systems of the world all act to teach the creativity out of students. Students eventually learn that being correct is more important than making a mistake. The video brought up how the education system today forces students to learn certain subjects in a set hierarchy of importance. The video shows that this cannot suffice in the future because of the inflation of degrees. A job that needed a Bachelors degree ten years ago probably requires a MBA now. The video talks about the need to nurture the development of creativity to help students thrive in the future.

Ken Robinson’s vision for the future has good points. One is that degrees are basically required most jobs that pay a reasonable wage. How can creativity help students become adults with jobs? It seems as though the world requires a complete overhaul in order to make creativity important for an adult’s future. It is important to be able to think outside the box, take risks, and not be afraid of being wrong. The future does seem to be on a track to be filled with doctors.

“A Vision for 21st Century Learning”

A Vision for 21'st Century Learning was an exciting video showing how technology can be used for learning. Video games are played by so many students in the world that it is best to incorporate them into learning. This video shows some of the same problems with classroom learning. In this video they show an alternative to the old systematic style of learning. There vision is to have video games where students can walk around and interact with characters in order to proceed and complete the game.

The main argument is that we have to get out of the teaching/learning system being used. They contend that video games are a step in the right direction. I agree to both of these arguments. One problem is that kids will not play boring video games. A non-exciting game is worse than no game. Once a child becomes bored of a game they will stop playing it. A game must have good graphics, some type of story, and exciting scenes where you must use your skills to proceed.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts

In the video Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, you are shown how students are using computers to create avatars and to learn by research. Even though they are in rural southern Georgia town they are working with others around the world through technology. They must complete blog posts and at times must teach their class. By interacting together the students become proactive learners while being capable independent researchers.

The way those students’ are learning will probably be seen more often in years to come. This class reminds of the old saying about teaching a man to fish. If you teach a student to learn they will continue to gain knowledge or you can tell them some information now and they will remember it for a day. This class is trying to teach students to learn not to lecture them and have them pass a test. This is one way to help students keep up with technology.