Blog Post #5

Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please? by Dr. Scott McLeod

Who is Dr. Scott McLeod? Dr. McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is a very well-rounded individual with wonderful insight about the world of technology. He is a well known blogger, CASTLE director, Idea Generator, Solutions generator, etc. Dr. McLeod states his opinions in a sarcastic fashion and leaves his viewers with many thoughts in mind. I like how he got his point across by using sarcasm in his blog post. I do agree with his statement that there are bad things out there and we need to keep our children safe, but I also feel like we shouldn't keep children too sheltered. Dr. McLeod talks about how the negatives of technology can prevent us from actually encourages the use of technology in our classrooms. We need allow children to enhance their knowledge but also keep them safe while doing so. I think as long as we address the concerns to our students and allow them to come to us with any problems then the worries should soon pass. We as educators need to educate ourselves primarily first so we do not feel threatened or fearful of negative outcomes of technology. There are so many wonderful opportunities in regards to technology; so we should embrace it instead of running away from it!

iSchool initiative By Travis Allen

I was very impressed after watching the YouTube video on iSchool initiative by Travis Allen. Travis was only 17 when he created his video, iSchool initiative. Travis speaks about how schools should incorporate technology into the curriculum and eliminate the use of pens, paper, and possible books. He believes the iPad and iTouch have a lot of wonderful uses that will benefit future students. He also talks about how there are different apps that can help allow the learning experience to grow. You can do so much through internet apps and YouTube, the possibilities are almost endless. I feel like this could be a fantastic idea but we would need to get administrators on board, and I know that would be a difficult thing to do. It seems like teachers today and school administrators would dislike the idea of ischool because they are stuck in their traditional ways of teaching. Travis also talks about how expensive the cost of books for a single student can be. He says the price for one student on ischool would only be 150 dollars opposed to 600 dollars for textbooks alone. I think that would enable a tremendous amount of savings for school systems but I know the administrators would fine holes in ischool. I personal feel ischool would be very inexpensive compared to the prices of textbooks, but I think we have a long way to go to get parents, teachers,and administrators on board before this could ever happen. Travis Allen has a lot of great ideas and he did a wonderful job on his YouTube video.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

I watched the video on Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir-'Lux Aurumque and I was truly impressed! The music was so beautiful and all the different faces that were put together just amazed me. I was very pleased after watching this peaceful sounding video. Eric Whitacre is such a talented individual to have put this remarkable video together of all these individuals. I am personally very happy that we were assigned to this particular video because I would have never looked at anything of this nature. This is definitely something I would like to look into further. I like that there is such a positive and moving video on the internet such as this one. I love how technology is evolving into the arts. I think it is a good thing to incorporate as much technology as possible into the arts. I will definitely show this video to my future class.

Teching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts talks about how students do not always need their teachers first to solve a problem or as a resource. Technology is a major resource for many students. Teachers are not always the biggest part of the classroom, but they are needed to engage with their students and pave the road for their future with technology. Technology needs to brought about in a way of learning and educating instead of just being known as a form of entertaining.

Students today need to be aware of the technology around them because it is not only growing but it is also everywhere. Yes, the internet can help teach the student and be a resource for almost anything, but the need for a teacher is definitely still relevant. I believe even when technology has taken over the school systems the need for an educator in the classroom will still be utmost important. Teachers not only pave the way for students, but also leave stepping stones for their future students.

Reading rockets
Reading Rocket is a wonderful website filled with tons of resources for teachers, parents, administrators, counselors, and many more! Reading rocket has lesson plans, fun games, ABC's of teaching, video podcasts, and much much more. I really think this website is going to come in great use for my future classroom. I have already printed off a few things! I found the resource Helping Struggling Readers a wonderful resource because it gave many different tips and information to help encourage your students with reading problems. There are questions and answers for the teacher and parents to discuss about the student also available on this resource. I like this resource because it have tools that teachers can use in the classroom and also free printable worksheets!