Blog Post #2

Mr. Dancealot

I believe the central message of this video was that if you are always only lecturing and never letting the students practice on their own, they are at a serious learning disadvantage. When students can not practice what they are learning, some may have a hard time grasping the concept being taught to them. I think the author does an excellent job conveying this message. Dance is definitely something you learn by doing, just like many school subjects. by the end of the video, it was very clear what the message was, and why the students were so confused. I do agree with his conclusion. I know for a fact I have done much better in classes where my teacher actually demonstrated how to do something rather than just talking at me about how it should be done.

Mr.dancealot

Teaching in the 21st Century

I think Roberts was saying that in the 21st century, It is not so much about teaching facts, as it is about teaching how to find and use facts. Also, how to teach skills, and how to teach students to use and better understand the many many tools they have available to them.

A. Be able to provide more to you students than

1. contents

2.Facts

3.Dates

4.Theories

5.Storied

B. Show your students how to use different aspects of the internet such as

1.Twitter

2.Blogs

3.Skype

4.Google

C. Teach students how to

1.Validate facts

2.Communicate information

3.Problem solve with information

4.Help students learn the skills to make everyday life decisions

D. Make sure your teaching is

1. Relevant

2. Challenging

3. Engaging

a.Not entertaining

I agree with the way roberts sees teaching changing. I think this will affect me as an educator because now I will have to incorporate technology in the way that I teach, and also because I will have to make sure that my lessons are engaging, not just entertaining. My focus should be if my students are engaged and challenged by what I am teaching, not distracted or confused.

Teaching in the 21st Century

The Networked Student

This video by Wendy Drexler conveys the message that, when used correctly, technology can be a very important source in finding information and resources. I was impressed by this video. For starters, I learned a lot about storing and sharing the information that you find online that I did not know previously. I also really liked the way it was presented. I feel like she was very successful in showing all the many ways you can learn about a subject using the internet. Also, that there are many more ways to find information other than wikipedia and yahoo answers. I found it interesting the way he talked about the many ways you can find opinions, and share the information you have found with others that may be researching the same topic. Although all the information that the student found on the internet was very helpful, I really appreciated that the narrator made sure to say that a teacher is still an instrumental part in the learning process. The Networked Student was a very interesting video

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

I think Vicki Davis's thesis was that students should know how to use all platforms of technology available to them, and that they should be able to find information/how to do things on their own. I very much agree with her. I think that it will only benefit these students to know how to use these many different technology platforms, and also to be able to find information without her having to explain every little thing. I also really liked the way she had the students teaching each other. That is one way to know how well you truly know something is to be able to teach someone else how to do it. I think she has a very forward thinking class idea, and it is really neat the way she has connected to people all over the world. Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

Flipping the Classroom

I have never heard of Flipping The Classroom before this video. I think that it is an awesome idea. I know that I do so much better in a class if I read the chapter before we go over it, because it's kind of like you are hearing it twice. I think that if a student watched a lesson at home, then came to class and spent five to ten minutes discussing it as a class, it would be very easy to make sure everybody had a clear understanding. I think that this would even be beneficial in the college math course I am taking currently. This also seems like it would be a very effective way to teach other subjects, such as social studies and science. I believe this would be very useful to me as a teacher, because I would be better able to address my students' questions, and it would also give me more time to work with them individually.