Blog #2

Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version Revised

As suggested, I watched both Did You Know Videos. The first one I watched was the Did You Know video revised in 2012 by Dr. Strange. Both videos compared technologies of the past and present but made the viewer think/imagine 'What in the world is to come'? Both videos gave statistics on the growth of technology, not ony in the United States but in the world.

As a twenty-three year old, I do realize the importance and the use of technology in today's world. On the other hand, the videos brought out many factors that I was not aware of. For instance, the size of China and India compared to the United States. The fact that so many people in China are learning to speak English, that China may exceed the number of English speakers in the world was unbelievable. Wow! Also, that students I teach may have 10-14 jobs before they are even 40. This gave me realization that we must do better educating our students for a world that is advancing so rapidly in technology.

The most interesting statistics given on the video was information regarding technology. The video discussed YouTube watchers, Google Searchers, SMS Messages and cell phones/smart phones. It points out how the number of users of these technologies have increased over the years. It explains how technology is ever-changing and how we must anticipate the changes in technology. The question for this video is 'What will be my role in preparing my students for jobs of 2022 for technologies that do not even exist? My only answer to this is simply to try and keep up on as much technology as possible.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

Mr. Winkle Wake's video reminds me of a question I often ask myself; What would my great-grandparents think of our world today? The video was about a man who awoke after 100 years to see a world very different from what he remembered. All areas were different except one, education. I'm sure my great-grandparents would feel exactly as Mr. Winkle did.

The video shows how technology changed in the business industry and the medical industry but stayed the same in the field of education. Since I have a dad who is a nurse and a mom who is an educator, I asked both of their opinions about the video.

My dad said that there are so many life-saving technologies in the medical field. He is constanty attending training on machines and other computers in the hospital to keep up with the latest upgrades in technology. My mom said the video was somewat harsh on educational institutions but she understood the point of the video. She state that she is sure there are systems left behind in technology but some are trying. She gave me an example of how Baldwin County Schools are introducing the Digital Rennaisance initiative, where they have put computers in all high school student's hands. All middle school students will have individual computers the fall of this year. As for elementary schools, they all have computer labs and will eventually have individual computers. She said that education is the business that focus the least on technology but believes Baldwin County in taking steps in the right direction.

As a student who graduated in 2008, Baldwin County has grown a great deal in technology in the four years I have been gone. I feel that schools in our country have to focus more attention on technology. I also believe that it is our responsibility as future educators to make sure our students are not left behind. It has to be the responsibility of the government and schools to teach the most updated forms of technology and prepare our students for future technology challenges. As educators, the old teaching methods must change. The rows, teacher lectures and paper-pencil methods have to be substituted with more technology. Change is happening as someone reads my blog.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

The information I took from Sir Ken Robinson's video is how educators are killing the creativity of children. This was a profound statement and one that makes a person stop and listen. He ponts out that creativity should be just as important as literacy. A strong point made in the video was him saying we grow out of creativity, the more educated we become. He made his point clear when he said that educators do not like being wrong and to be creative, you cannot fear something turning out wrong. As a future educator, I will not place my student's creativity on the back burner. I will consider it an important factor in their education and try to help develop their talents.

Pinterest: Using Available Resources

Pinterest - After setting up my Pinterest account, I browsed through lots of websites offered by Penterist. Any search I typed, I found lots of pins. I looked up basketball, war, drepression, Colby Bryant, etc... I narrowed my search down to education. I found information from early child developement to doctorial programs. I found information on special education, vocational education, home school, church school and so much more. I then searched for my field of education, physical education, where I found all kinds of useful ideas and suggesions.

The question asked is would I use these ideas in my classroom? which one? why, or why not? The four ideas listed on the video were (1) lesson plans, (2) sharing ideas, (3) organizaion and (4) students use. I plan to incorporate all of these ideas into my classroom. The one I found most interesting is sharing ideas. There are so many ideas seen on Pinterest that I feel that a community will be teaching my class instead of just me.. Pinterest is a tool that will definitely make me a better teacher. It will also help students use technology to enhance their learning. I believe Pinterest is a tool I will use daily in each lesson I plan.

The 20 best Pinterest Boards (About Education Technology)

After viewing the 20 best Pinterest Boards, I chose to follow number 18 by Debbie Tucoloro. I chose to follow this board because it concentrates on the beginning learners in technology. It focused on helping people who are not familiar with new technology become more comfortable with the tool. The board gave ideas and tutorials. Examples of the board I toured included: transferring photos, making bulletin boards, videos, time management, presentations, collages, Podcasting, IPads, Smartboards and many other useful ideas and techniques.

Pinteret for Teachers by Nicole DesJardins

Pinterest for Teachers is just a corkboard full of great ideas for teachers to use. I think the most important thing about Pinterest, is that you are getting so many different ideas from different people. There are many ideas and directions you can go when planning a class lesson. You have ideas from veteran teacher, new teachers and people who are not even teachers. When I become a teacher, I will be able to click on a link and pull up ideas on any topic or activity. Great website. I found ideas for bulletin boards, presentations and class projects. Pinterest allows us to collect ideas from a community of educators with some of the same interests.

5 Minute Film Festival: Pinterest for Teaching and Learning

This was another video on how educators are using the new social media (Edutopia). I watched What is Pinteres which is a video that shows how we have come from cutting a clip out of a magazine to saving them on a disk and now to placing them on Pinterest; a corkboard for the world to view. Pinterest is a site worthy of exploring.

Pinterest will definitely be an important tool that I use in my classroom. I will use Pinterest when creating any lesson plan. I will also insist on my students using Pinterest as a resource when they are making presentations or turning in projects. Pinterest will also be used to share ideas with my collegues and parents. Yes, Pinterest will be a tool that is ued daily in my classroom.-