Blog Post #4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
This post was pretty funny. I know people who think that the internet is evil and it is only because they are misinformed. I am aware that there can be dangers when using the internet but they can be avoided. By the way, for those concerned parents out there they do have parental controls on computers now you can prevent your child from seeing all these evil things. Where as, there are disadvantages to the internet there are some great advantages and to not let students use the internet is not very sensible. Students can learn great things from the internet not to mention through social networking sites such as twitter students can learn how to work as a team and collaborate together. The internet should be used in the classroom there are so many benefits to its use.
Dr. Scott McLeod is an associate professor at Iowa State University. In addition, according to his webpage,http://scottmcleod.net/bio/,he is the director of "the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators." Also, we have already seen his work before he is one of the co-creators of the "Did You Know?" video which we previously viewed for another blog post.


The iSchool Initiative
First off let me just say I am so amazed that a high school senior grant could accomplish this and come up with such an innovative idea. This video is inspiring it gave me hope to what could be and what the students are capable of now.
I am completely a supporter for the iSchool Initiative. The only problem with the iSchool Initiative is the initial set-up fees. In order for this to work the schools must pay for the iTouch and the traditional textbook must be pushed aside. But, since the textbooks are used year after year and the iTouch per student is relatively expensive, this could be a serious financial burden. Also, a time will come when applications and the iTouch itself will need to be modify solely for educational use therefore the government will have to create contracts with the Apple Co. which could lead to even more financial issues. However, after the iSchool Initiative becomes common place I do believe that it could save money, not to mention make a remarkable impact to our carbon footprint. Even though the initial start up would be expensive, there is more advantages then disadvantages to the iSchool Initiative.


The Lost Generation
The techniques in this video are very neat. First, I liked the viewpoint of the wording. Second, I was absolutely amazed that when you read the “poem” the first way, how one normally would, then one could read the “poem” backwards and it still made since, it was neat. I look forward to learning how to use this technique and applying it to my future classroom.
I really liked this video, it was very realistic. Marriage used to be a sacred union but now divorce is more common place. We have become a society that places too much emphasis on our jobs and not enough emphasis on our families. We used to be a society who greatly cared about the environment and we have slowly drifted from this view but we are slowly moving back. These things really are happening and unless we start to make changes they will continue and will get worse. Hope is not lost we can change, it is not too late but we need to act now before it is too late.



Virtual Choir
This was an interesting use of the internet. At first I was not very sure how I could apply this to education but then it really got me thinking. Instead of a conductor there could be an educator and instead of a choir there could be students. This has the potential of becoming a purely virtual classroom. The classroom could literally become all virtual and the traditional lecture hall could become non-existent. Educators could teach to students from all cultures and from all locations. One student could be in his bedroom in Washington and another could be outside in Nigeria. All walks of life could be a part of this classroom. Students would still be getting a lecture but now they can freely expression their beliefs where as in a traditional classroom there (more often than not) is too much pressure to truly express beliefs. With students being more active throughout the discussion and with so many various cultures there is the potential for very diverse beliefs in discussion. I loved this idea I just hope it can really happen one day.


Teaching in the 21st Century
I believe there is some real truth to this video. As a teacher, we must teach our students to use the available technology the right way. Too many students today do not understand the meaning of plagiarism, and that it is only because no one has ever taught them. Students can easily find information and simply copy and paste it to their document and some teacher just accepted it. This must stop; teachers must not accept such documents. All teachers should use available programs such as turnitin.com to check for plagiarism. Students should start learning from early elementary school and on the real meaning of plagiarism. However, facts should not just be thrown out of the classroom. Facts should be discussed as a class so students can learn that everyone has different views and opinions on things and that it is okay.