In the article Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? Scott McLeod has a very sarcastic way of telling us what not to teach our kids. Examples include… don’t teach our kids to read online, chat online, and social networks. At the end he informs us that even though everyone else is saying they won’t let their kids do it, he will. His kids will have an advantage in life that other kids will not because technology is here to stay. The earlier kids learn about technology the easier it will be for them in their adulthood years.
The iSchool Initiative
Travis Allen’s video demonstrates an education world full of nothing but technology. Travis explains to us how his hometown state, Georgia, is having major budget cuts. The cuts are affecting the school he attends and the entire state. The classes are becoming larger and the amount of teachers employed is becoming smaller. He has come up with the iSchool, a form of everyday school activities being functioned online. There will be no printers, pencils, paper, or books in the class. Some examples were school lunch menus and interactive class agendas. All of the apps provided would always be made available to the students and teachers. Travis emphasizes how going paperless will affect our carbon footprints and allow us to save money.
I like the idea of everyone saving money and keeping their jobs. I really agree with incorporating as much technology as possible to our kids. I do not agree with making the school completely technology and no writing. I can see now the difference between our generation and the generation of my fifteen year old sister. They are adapting the technology era with text messaging on their cell phones. It
makes them somewhat lazy in my opinion. They do not spell their words out correctly. For example instead of typing, “What are you doing?” she will text, “wyd”. Another example would be instead of her writing out the word, “what” she will write, “wat”. This is a sign of laziness trying to make as shortcuts as possible. I just think we need to stick to certain basics when it comes to educating our children.
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
This video was absolutely beautiful. The choir sound quality is so amazing. I have never heard of a Virtual Choir. It astonishes me that 185 people from twelve different countries have united to make one sound. This just proves that technology has the capability to connect the world. Eric Whitacre has done one great job and deserves a round of applause.
Teaching 21st Century Students
In this video, Kevin Roberts, explains to us how technology has taken over the traditional classroom setting. There used to be a time when the only resource a student had was his/her teacher. That has now changed; students now have new and improved resources such as Google and Facebook. Even though students have these new found resources everything found on them is not accurate. It is still up to the teacher to reiterate what is correct. I think that technology is a major help in the classroom, but we should still stick to some of traditional pencil and paper roots as well.
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets has podcasts that contain interviews with children’s book authors and illustrators. This would be helpful in introducing the children to who made their books. They can now put a voice to their favorite book makers. This is something I never got to experience in elementary school, so it will be really exciting to my little ones. There is also a link for Classroom Strategies that provide teachers with a variety of strategies to assist their students in literacy areas they may need improvement in.
I like this website and all that it has to offer. It is a great resource for not only teachers but parents as well. It is free so it can be accessed by anyone. They put a great deal of time and effort into this website to ensure that it was accessible and helpful to all of its users. I will most definitely utilize Reading Rockets in my classroom as well as at home with my children.
No comments:
Post a Comment