1. In Dr. McLeod's post he makes a valid point about kids that are not taught how to use the internet being further behind in the job market. That being said he seems to gloss over the point of the very real dangers out there in cyberspace. My kids go on the internet all the time, but only after they ask me(they even ask when the T.V. says "kids, get your parents permission"). Also, they are monitored at what they get to do on the computer. I feel that as long as children are monitored they should be exposed to the tools available to them on the internet. But, if parents aren't willing to monitor their kids then they should not allow them to use the internet, because there are things on the net that children should be protected from.
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Educational Administrative program at Iowa State University. He is also the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE).
2. In "The ischool Initiative" video this young man makes some very interesting points about how to use the itouch platform in today's public education system. If his figures are correct this will be an excellent way to save the taxpayers money and keep both the teachers and parents up to date on the progress of the students. This is also a great interactive tool that can be used for research on any number of subjects that will now be easily accessed by the student.
I think that the only way that this will be able to take effect is if there is some corporate sponsorship, and if there is, it will have to be done on some sort of experimental basis before the nation would even consider this as a valid option. But, that doesn't mean that it won't happen, it just means that people and society are all resistant to change.
3. The video "The Lost Generation" was really very well done, it was well thought out and done professionally. I think that the person responsible for the video did a very good job on making the video give a powerful message and making a bit of a twist ending without changing any of the script except for reading it in reverse.
4. In "Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir" I was amazed at how well that everyone's voices mixed together so well from all over the world without ever actually meeting. How much time went into finding the talent for this. this was an amazing video, and goes to show that now nearly anything is possible. I never would have even thought to try to do something as inventive and clever as this.
5. In the video "Teaching in the 21st Century" the idea expressed in this video is that teachers are not the only purveyors of knowledge in a child's life anymore. But just because today's teacher is not the only one with the answers for students, teachers are now expected to be "filters" for the student. Also' teachers are to focus the student's attention in the direction that is moat beneficial to the student.
Hello Jordan!
ReplyDeleteI'm Bailey and I was assigned to your blog this week. I know, you're overjoyed. I can tell. I thought you made some great points about Dr. McLeod's post and the dangers of cyberspace. While there are many threats to the sanctity of our children's minds, I feel like we can't put off progress for fear of possible contamination. You get what I'm saying? Anyway, that's just my opinion. I agree that there are some things out there that kids should not see and that we need to have filters to prevent any crossing of lines.
Your idea about iSchools needing sponsorship is novel, and I quite like it. By taking away some of the financial burden from the already "poor" school systems, it would be beneficial for companies--namely Apple--to donate the equipment necessary in an effort to give back to the communities. Also, they might could get a tax write off, which is always great.
In total, I thought your responses were nice despite their brevity. Thanks for the insightful post! It's always great to hear about technology from a parent's perspective.
Jordan,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the iSchool initiative is a great idea, and the iTouch could be a wonderful tool for the students to use. You are so right though about society being resistant to change. I personally think this is what is holding the education system back; it isn't the funding. Technology is a beneficial resource, and we should fight to be able to use it appropriately.