Blog Post 8 Assignment

Richard Miller's This Is How We Dream

I would like to begin by saying that during his speech he said that "teachers have not yet begun to realize the changes in our world" and he is so right. Watching this video, for me was a bit of a shock. I know our world is changing but it is so hard to see how fast it is moving. I will admit that it is extremely hard for me to accept it most days but I am trying. I want to be the best teacher that I can be and what I grew up thinking was the "ideal" teacher is quite possibly not the "ideal" teacher now. It is becoming more and more important to be a technologically literate teacher. This is because while some teachers are keeping up with the new ways of teaching other teachers are sticking to their old ways. This is causing some harm to some students. The teachers who are using all of their technology, such as the teachers using the internet to teach their students visually, with audio, pictures, live footage, and text (like the teachers in Dr. Miller's speech) are going to have very well rounded students. While the teachers who are simply using a book with mostly text and a few pictures are letting their students fall behind the students who are in the technologically literate teachers classes. As much as I may hate to give up my pen and paper I want to do what is best for my students (as should all teacher or future teachers). So I believe that Dr. Miller is right on! Using all of these different types of teaching will keep students interested and there for inspire them to learn. While this video has helped me to admit that technology in the classroom is important, I still will not fold on the fact that we DO need teachers. I believe Dr. Miller has proven this point by showing how great a "good" teachers effect can be on students. A teacher who uses everything the have to improve their students learning, including keeping up with technology so they can be prepared in life. I believe Dr. Millers dream is a good one but that for me at least it is still hard to accept how today's technology has changed the world, let alone what the future will be like. As of right now, I believe that I am ready to teach my students with all of the technology that Dr. Miller spoke of but I would also love to add some things he left unmentioned. I am also seeing now that children should not just be limited to what their teachers think are important but should also be given some time to teach themselves. I believe a class where you are guided and pointed in the right direction and taught using multimedia and technology with a lot of inspired learning on students own would be a great mixture for the classroom. This way the teacher is teaching and the students are teaching themselves and each other as well. It would be a classroom full of learning for sure.



EDM310

A video that I would like to construct is the difference between a technologically literate teacher and a teacher who is not a technologically literate teacher. I believe we could make this a very fun video and at the end the question you could leave everyone with is "Which teacher would you want"? And the teachers could do activities and you could see the literate teacher do the activities using really cool technology and then show the other teacher making the children get out a pen and piece of paper. Then both teachers could talk about how the students can use the skills they learned in each classroom in the "real" world. The literate teacher would say that they could use the internet to teach themselves anything they wish, that they new how to use programs that will help them make connections such as Facebook, twitter, YouTube, applying online for jobs and schools, and blogging. The other teacher would say something like, "you now know how to write and read" and one of her students could answer, "we learned that in kindergarten". I think the video would show how lacking teachers who do not use technology are compared to those who do. I was just throwing some ideas around for this video but I do think it would be a fun one to make and could possibly help some one else. The main reason I would like to make this video is because when I first started this class I did not see the importance or the difference between the two kinds of teachers. Now I know and I would love to show not only students in EDM310 why it is important but teachers everywhere.

EDM310 for Dummies

I think they really should make a book! They could make some serious money off of it I think. I believe the point of this video was that if you do the tutorials and the assignments that you can have a really great time in the class. EDM310 was not made to be your enemy but to help you learn and if you embrace it, it can be a lot of fun.

Chipper

Chipper was so sad. This was a pretty funny video thought I must say. The point of the video was to show that if you try to get out of learning you really are only cheating yourself. Chipper did not get anywhere when she tried to not learn and neither will we.


Smart Boards

So I read both of the Smart board blogs we were supposed to read but I was unable to find a blog telling how smart boards actually helped education. The only example I could find of how they are useful would be this short you tube video I found http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U05WeXPGlk . I believe this was a strong indicator that perhaps smart boards really are not that essential to education.

On the "Why Smart Boards are dumb post" Jeff Branzburg left this comment, "The reason that smart boards work (to make students learn) is because it instigates a change in the way teachers teach. It makes them pay attention to multimedia". I agree with Jeff. Smart boards are very useful in the way that they help teachers who are afraid of technology become better teacher by being forced to learn how to be technologically literate. As for cost, if you were not spending money on smart boards what other technological device would they buy? I think Smart boards are a great tool to teach. Should they improve teaching? Not necessarily, teachers could use other forms of technology to accomplish almost the same thing, but it makes it a lot easier on the teacher. I do not believe using a smart board is going to help your students learn any better than they were (unless of course you were NOT using multimedia and are now USING it because you wanted learn how to using the Smart Board). A great example of this was a comment left on Why Smart Boards are Dumb by TimeOutDad was "Giving me a Porsche isn't automatically going to make me a better driver, but then, we shouldn't blame the Porsche, right? ;) If I don't know how to drive stick-shift, then I better learn how to, if I want to drive it properly. Then again, if I'm in the middle of the desert, forget the Porsche. I'll take a camel. It all depends... ". I thought this was an awesome example!! Having a Smart Board is not going to make you a better teacher, you WANTING to be a better teacher will. Teachers who are given these really expensive devises and then do not use them really are a waste of school funds. However, if a teacher is going to use them to improve their teaching I think they should be in our school systems.




so thought this comment was pretty strait on for those teachers who really want to have smart boards to help their students learn, on the "Why Smart boards are dumb" Matt left this comment, "As an educator and trainer I support and encourage the implementation of Smart Boards. There are obviously better options for tech-savvy educators that include using multiple devices at a smaller cost, but there is nothing better than IWBs to introduce tech-weary teachers to the power of edtech and to create a community of educators united by common tools."