Saturday, September 18, 2010

Blog Post #4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?- This item was written by Dr. Scott Mcleod. He is an associate professor at Iowas State University in the Educational Administration Program. He wrote this satire in order to point out all of the things kids will miss out on if they aren't exposed to technology.

I agree with the most of what he is saying. I disagree on how he seems to marginalize some of technologies real danger. For example, it's easy for me as someone who knows how to maneuver on the web, to end up where I want to be. Someone who is new to the net, on the other hand, can end up somewhere they wish they weren't and with malware they didn't want. This is a real danger to novices. With the appropriate guidance from someone knowledgeable students can be taught how to search safely. And I agree with him that it is important that they learn how to use this technology.

I think that rather than address his post to everyone involved with the students education, he should have targeted those that are technologically literate. (Disclaimer: I'm sure Dr. Mcleod's purpose was to show that the benefits outweigh the costs on some level.)

The iSchool Initiative- A video by a high school student giving his ideas on how to fix the public education system in the U.S. Hw introduces the iSchool, which is an itouch with applications that will take the place of books, notebooks, pencils, etc. in the classroom. The apps that I think could be adopted seamlessly today, and provide utility, are the notes, the calendar, recorder, and scientific calculator. iHomework looks pormising but I don't know enough about it.
It seems like the iPad would be a more appropriate device for this. The larger screen is more appropriate, especially for reading textbooks. I think this is a great idea though, and I won't be surprised to see this transition occur quickly. In order for that to happen, though, higher education has to take the lead. Then once public school systems see the benefit, they'll be more willing to make the switch.

The Lost Generation- WOW! Great video! I'm a proud part of Generation Y and I do believe that our generation will do great things. The things that I find important are not the same things that my parents find important. I think its ignorant when people say that we are "overparented" and more appropriate to say that our parents were "underparented". This recession is a godd example of that! I believe we will discover what truly makes us happy, and it won't have anything to do with money. I'm not sure why AARP made this video, but, I'm glad they did.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir- It's as amazing to me that someone could organize and set up this performance as the performance itself is. The technology that went into allowing this amalgamation of people to perform as a choir, and my ability to watch it anytime any place is mindboggling. If you look deeper, the music was only a small part of this performance, and the beauty lies in its implications. This video is proof that students from different backgrounds and locations can be taught in a digital classroom, and it can be a seamless experience.

2 comments:

  1. I never really thought about someone technologically illiterate stumbling upon malware. That was an excellent point and another reason why they need to be taught early in life. And I love how you've set up your blog posts with screenshots. I may "borrow" this set up for my own blog.

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  2. Mitch,

    Your statement ... The things that I find important are not the same things that my parents find important. This also can apply to education today. Things that were important in the past might not be as important to this generation. We as educators need to be aware of that and try and learn all the new things that we can as we move forward.

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