Blog Post 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

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After watching this video on you tube I have to say that I am amazed. Amazed at all the complaining! If that is a true vision of students today then I am an over achiever. The comment that was written "18% of my teachers know my name" is just sad to me. I strongly believe that education is what you put into it. If she went to class every day and was active in class discussions and talked with her teacher then I am positive that they would all know her name. I would also like to take this time to rant about education. Did you know that right now what we as college students are paying to learn in a classroom we could easily learn ourselves online? It is the degree we are after, not the knowledge. If you wanted to know how to do something or learn a new language you don't have to pay hundreds of dollars and take a class. You could simply go online and there is all the information you need.

We pay hundreds of dollars for a degree. Some of the most intelligent people in the world could work at McDonald's (no offense to anyone who does) because if they searched for the knowledge on the web they could find it. So many people go to college and get in thousands of dollars in debt to get a piece of paper that says they are qualified to do the job. I believe college is a way to make money and that is all. The way jobs should be done is YOU teach yourself and then take a test to see if you pass. Not do you have a piece of paper that "says" you know everything you should. The students in that video are not interested in learning. They are interested in getting a piece of paper so they can get a job!




"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

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I read this post by Kelly Hines and I think she has some very valid points. Her first point was that teachers must be learners. I have written about this in earlier blog posts and I still hold true to this belief. Teacher are always learners. In order to teach something you must first know it. Her second point is that learning and teaching are not the same thing. I at first thought this was an obvious statement but after reading her reasoning I saw why she included this. Not everyone learns in the same way and if no one learns than no one taught. I love and totally agree with her on her saying that learning is not the same to everyone, but it must be the goal.

Her third point was that technology is useless without good teaching. I believe you could also flip that and say that without technology good teaching is useless. Technology is important in our society and without teaching it you are failing your students. I believe the point she is trying to make is that good teaching and technology need to work together in order to have the best benefits possible.Her last point is that you should be a 21st century teacher with out the technology. This means in my opinion that you must first be a teacher and then add the technology with time.



Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

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"We should stop being so nice. After all, we've got our qualifications and jobs, and we don't have the moral right to sit placidly on the sidelines whilst some educators are potentially jeopardising the chances of our youngsters" said Karl Fisch on his blog post. I believe this pretty much says it all. Teacher should be tech savvy because if they are not it is hurting the students. As educators it is our JOBS and highest priority to teach students all they need to know to survive in the world. If we our not teaching them the technology that they need to know about we are failing and there for should not be teachers. Those who are standing by letting the teacher get away with this are just as guilty of depriving the children. You would not stand by and watch a child deprived of food so why are we letting our children technologically starve? I realize that technology can not all be learned in a day and that incorporating it all will take time but we need to get a move on! The children are the ones who will suffer because of our incompetence. I know this is harsh but we do need to quit being so nice! We have been nice long enough and it is only holding us back from what the education system could and should be.




Gary Hayes Social Media Count

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After watching the various parts of this media count I am a little taken back. The speed in which our world is changing is beyond me. In mere seconds text messages sent had reached thousands. For someone who does not even text on a daily basis this is shocking. The only thing I can describe is the way I feel and I feel frightened. I know that most people believe technology is a great thing and in some ways I agree. I love how advanced modern medicine is today and we our saving more people than ever before. In some ways, however, I think it could quickly turn into a bad thing. If the wrong people use technology for the wrong reasons it could be devastating for our world. I don't really have anything left to say so I will simply leave you with the thoughts of good v.s. evil in technology. There will always be people who use it for good and those who use it for bad purposes.