Blog Post #5

Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is one of the most influential voices when it comes to technology in the K-12 grade levels, and he is also a co-creator of several successful internet videos called "Did You Know? Shift Happens." I read his blog post on technology in the classroom. In a very sarcastic way, he pointed out how stiff administrators can be about technology in the classroom. He tried to convey the point that we need to help children by not holding them back and actually educating them fully. That means incorporating technology into the classroom.
I have to say that I agree with the points that he was making. Administrators, for the most part, are just too old fashioned. We need to teach students how to access and operate the many technological tools at their disposal instead of restricting them to just a pencil and loose-leaf paper.
Source - http://scottmcleod.net/bio/

I watched Travis Allen's The iSchool Initiative and ZeitgeistYoungMind's Entry. In his videos, he outlines the values of utilizing the iPad and iPod Touch in the classroom. He touched on several different apps that could be used to help students in their learning, and to be honest, he did not even scratch the surface of useful apps for education. He also pointed out that using these technologies would drastically cut down on the use of natural resources such as paper in the classroom.
Again, I have to agree with the points that he is making. I can truly attest to what he is saying because I have used my iPod touch in the same way that he is describing! It is so easy to find information and useful apps with such a small tool, and I would highly suggest that more students try it.

Next I watched Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir on Jennifer Chamber's blog. This was a really spectacular performance; it was so beautiful! It is especially amazing considering the singers never met or performed with each other. This video is truly a testament to the powers of the internet and how it is capable of producing good.

Last but not least, I watched Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts. In my opinion, Kevin thinks that teaching in the 21st century means getting children engaged in the classroom. He thinks that we should use computer and internet resources to maximize this engagement, and he thinks that it would be beneficial if we taught children how to be independent learners. In other words, a 21st century teacher focuses more on guiding children to the information that is already available and teaching them how to always be able to find the answers to whatever they are seaching for without having it simply handed to them.
Concerning his position in the video, I have to agree (it seems like I do that too much but oh well). As teachers, we need to focus more on helping children to be independent thinkers and learners instead of spoon feeding them the information in a lecture-type classroom. The information is out there, and we need to teach them how to find it! On how it will affect me as an educator, it changes everything. I am so used to just being lectured to that I really do not have a great example of what it feels like to have to find the information for myself. However, I am determined to help children in my classroom succeed in the world of tomorrow.