Blog Post #2

Did you know

I think what stood out to me the most in the "Did you know" video was the fact that the top jobs 10 years from now have not even been created yet. This statistic just blows my mind! How are we, as educators, suppose to teach the youth job skills for jobs that do not even exist yet? The whole video just makes me realize how much technology really is advancing. It is so easy to get caught up in the middle of society, and forget how fast things are changing. This world is evolving so fast that I remember when I was about 7 my mom bought us a PlayStation, which I thought was the coolest thing in the world, but now if a 7 year old would receive a regular PlayStation they would probably hate their parents. I also remember that the only way to get on the Internet was to use the phone line. Now they have it where you can use the Internet on your phone anywhere, be talking to someone, and be sending a text message all at the same time. The world is at an ever-growing technological state, and it is making it hard for educators to keep up.

Another Fact that really blew my mind was the fact that the top 25% of people with the highest IQ's in India outnumber the whole population of the United States. Also that by 2025 the number of Chinese people speaking English will be more than the number of native English speakers in the whole world. This makes me realize that the United States is not as smart and invulnerable as we think we are. If India out number's are whole population with their smartest 25%, and China will have more people speaking English as a second language, then people speaking it as a first, we are severely outnumbered.  I definitely recommend watching this video, it is extremely informative, and it really makes someone realize exactly where the United States stands as a country.

Mr. Winkle Wakes


"Mr. Winkle Wakes" is the newer story of Rip Van Winkle. He wakes up after 100 years of being asleep and realizes how much everything has changed. How now businesses use so much technology to get things done in today's time. Also he goes to a hospital, but then sees how machines are able to keep people alive, how x-ray machines are able to take picture through someone’s body. It all is such a culture shock not being around for 100 years and then coming back to see how drastically everything has changed. Mr. Winkle does not like all the changes and eventually he explores a school. While he is in the school he recognizes that the teachers are just lecturing to students about reading, writing, and arithmetic and he enjoys it because it is just like the old days of how teachers taught.

I understand the principle of the video, and I think it does have a valid point, that students are eventually going to become doctors or businessmen and should learn with new technology. However I am not really a fan of the video. I think teachers continue to do this strategy, simply because it works. There is an old saying that “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it." I have to agree with this saying, because people who had to learn the same way teachers are teaching now made all of this technology. Now I do agree with the video that educators do need to incorporate some technology into their lesson plans, but I feel like lecturing is a good way to make students think and allows them to learn how to follows directions.

The Importance of Creativity 


Sir Ken Robinson's video about the importance of creativity makes a lot of since. He brings up a valid point about America; we are so busy trying to diagnose the littlest things to fix people, such as diagnosing them with ADHD instead of actually finding out what is best for the child. I remember when I was a kid I hated doing math and science, all I wanted to do was play baseball. If someone had asked me what I was going to be when I grew up I would have said a professional athlete, and just as the video says, but everyone told me I would never make it. I think the whole presentation was fantastically thought out. Sir Robinson's presentation worked not only because he made sense, but also because he used modern ways to teach, such as telling jokes.

I would have to agree with the video though, that now a days kids are losing their creativity. The presentation made me start to rethink how I need to address my class and the importance of my students being their own person. I want to stress the importance that being wrong is not as bad as society tries to play it out to be. That the only way to grow as an individual is to experiment, and sometimes those experiments do not turn out how we want them too, but as long as something was learned it was not a waste of time. I agree 100 percent with Sir Robinson, and think that schools should emphasize more time into learning arts, because who knows whom the next Jillian Lynn will be.

"Mr. Winkle Wakes" and "The Importance of Creativity" work together to try and innovate the teaching system. Both videos explain how the way teaching is now a day needs to evolve from the way it has been. Whether it is by adding more technology to lesson plans, or emphasizing every subject instead of just two. I think the main focus is that both videos want people to realize that just as the world develops, the education system needs to as well. 

I think that if the Sir Robinson and the creator of "Mr. Winkle Wakes" got together that they would have the same opinion on education. I think that both of them would agree that the education system does work but it needs to be reformed. There is nothing wrong with change, which is partially why America is so great, because Americans have the ability to change. Without this ability to explore the unknown, even though it might be scary, our country would have never had a revolution or even existed. I think that is what the main focus of these videos are trying to say, is that we as a country need to adapt to the changing society and bring back the creativity. Just think without creativity Bill Gates would have never invented the Internet. 

Pinterest

I Think Pinterest could be very useful for teachers especially in the future where all lesson plans and teaching is going to be done online. On Pinterest you can make different boards, which is a fantastic tool especially if you teach more than one class. This way the students will know to click on the English at 9:15 board or the Literature at 2:20 board. If I were to subscribe to any of the 20 best Pinterest boards about education technology I would pick Debbie Fucoloro and TED ED news. The reason I would choose these two is because TED always has really fascinating stuff on their videos. I have always enjoyed watching and learning about every subject that TED talks about and I hope I can get my students to enjoy them as well. As for Debbie Fucoloro, I would choose hers because it is specifically designed for beginners, which I am. I feel like this will help my students get accustomed to learning on the Internet, and hopefully provide a seamless transition in to learning. So I can definitely see why some teachers use Pinterest and I will probably use Pinterest as well.