Blog Assignment 5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

Scott Mcleod, J.D.,PHD, is an associate professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is well known for his stance on technology leadership issues and has won many awards for his work.

In his post, Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?, Dr. Mcleod takes a sarcastic approach to confront the issues dealing with the dangers of technology. He discusses the typical arguments raised about technology such as; cheating, sexting, online predators and social networking. However, he ends his post by explaining that he teaches his students to use all types of technology and that they will be the ones that have a better chance of succeeding in the future.

I agree with the stance Dr. Mcleod took in his post. Yes, there are many dangers on the web but no more dangers than there are in the real world. We should teach our children and students how to be safe in every aspect of their lives and the internet should be no different. I think a lot of the problem goes back to the fear and resistance to change in the education system. It is an easy way out to deem technology and the internet as dangerous and ineffective instead of taking the time to learn about them and the benefits they offer to both the student and the teacher. Technology will without a doubt be a huge and influential part of our future. If we want our children and students to succeed, then we have to prepare them properly. So, take the time to make friends with technology. It can only be of benefit if it is worked with and not against. It is certainly not going anywhere so learn everything you can about it and embrace it!


The iSchool Initiative
Zeitgeist Young Mind's Entry

Travis Allen has completely sold me on the idea of mobile learning. I had no idea of the possibilities that the iTouch offers to education. To think of an education system void of so many extra and unnecessary expenses is amazing. Children could start at such an early age learning to use the technology. Once children mastered their writing skills, there would be no more need for paper and pencils (money saved!). Travis Allen's idea would save so much money that it would cut back on teacher layoffs as well as the other huge issue of not having enough material for each student. Allen explains that it would only cost about $150 per student and would eliminate the need for extra paper, pencils, books, copiers, copier ink and so much more. Technology is not going anywhere and we need to stop focusing on the negatives of it and instead try to embrace the positive impacts if offers to students, staff, and the school systems as a whole. As Travis Allen says, "Join the revolution!".

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

This video truly blew me away! Just to think that the people in this video have never met and are not standing next to each other is amazing. I think this is a great use of the internet and technology. It shows the limitless potential that technology offers. It brought together people who had never met and created something beautiful. It makes you wonder just how much technology has to prove before people wake up and realize it is a beneficial and productive use of time and learning.


Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts raised some very important points in this presentation. It is true that teachers are no longer always the first source students come to for information and answers. In some ways, technology has replaced teachers on this front. However, this does not mean teachers are no longer needed. Teachers still play a critical role in a child's education. They help a student understand what the answers they find to their questions mean. Teachers are needed to help teach life skills and make sure a student is on track with their educational process and goals. Teachers are now also needed to help teach technology.

A teacher who thinks their only role in a student's life is to teach them when the Civil War was fought or who invented electricity is not only selling themselves short but also the entire field of teaching. A teacher is not merely a body of facts, they serve as life guides and mentors. So what if Google teaches a student about the Periodic Table? It is still the teacher's job to 1. make sure the information is CORRECT, 2. help the student APPLY what they have learned and 3. show the student how the information is RELEVANT to their lives.

Students of today are growing up in a technology based and driven society and they need to know how to use technology properly if they want to be successful in the future. The 21st century definitely brought about some changes to the role of the teacher but it has in no way made the need for the teacher obsolete.


Reading Rockets Website

The resources on this website are abundant and extremely informative. I see why Anthony Capps regards it as such a valuable educational tool. I really enjoyed the section labeled, The ABC's of Teaching Reading. It emphasizes the websites goal of showing the importance of a child being literate. A child is not born with an innate ability to read, they must be taught. This fact shows how important teachers still are to a child's education. This section also gives tips on helping students who are struggling with learning to read.

The Reading Rockets website also offers valuable and informative videos and podcasts dealing with many different aspects of education including educational media. There is a podcast series called, Educational Media. All of the podcasts in this series were great and I particularly enjoyed, Educational Media in Action Part 3 (I have included this video at the end of this post for you to view). This podcast discusses screen time and literacy. It offers some great options and ideas on using educational media to help teach students and how to get the most out of technology. It discusses the importance of the CONTENT and CONTEXT offered by what the child is watching. Is the child interacting and engaged? Children spend a lot of time in front of the television and other forms of technology so it is now important to work with these devices and not against them. Instead, we must find how they can help in a child's educational process and retention. The podcast also offered great ideas on how the parent can interact with the child while watching educational programming. It also brought up wonderful ways to incorporate educational media and technology into the classroom and how to handle difficulties that may arise. It again goes back to keeping a student engaged!!




Everything I learned from this website was wonderful. I will not only refer to this website as a future teacher but as a future parent. Reading and literacy are so important in life and I love that there is a website that values its importance so much. I also enjoyed viewing their section of quotes. Here is one of my favorites I found on the site,

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark." - Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

Project#6-My Sentence Video

C4T #1 Summary

I was assigned to Michael Smith. Mr. Smith has worked in education for the past 17 years. He has worked as a coach, teacher, principal, and is currently the school Superintendent for Tuscola,Illinois. His blog site, Principal's Page ,focuses on school administration.
The first blog post of Mr. Smith's that I commented on was entitled, College Professors and Twitter. In this post, Mr. Smith commented on the importance of college professors, especially those teaching education, having a Twitter account. He mentions that he has many followers including college students, teachers, principals, assistant principals, superintendents, and parents. However, he is somewhat dismayed to find that none of his followers are college professors. He is worried that the people teaching the future teachers and administrators of education are not keeping up with technology the way they should be or at the rate that the students are. I responded to his post by explaining that until Dr. Strange's class, I had never had a Twitter account nor the desire to create one but that after beginning to use Twitter I am seeing the benefits it offers. I also explained to him that my professor, Dr. Strange, has a Twitter account and talks about the rewards it can offer. He responded to my comment with a short but very true statement, "Twitter is like so many things - you get out of it what you put in it." This is so true. Twitter will be of no use to you if you don't use it to its full advantage. You must increase the number of people you are following (but make sure you are following people that are of benefit to your learning), make sure to get on everyday and read what these educators are saying, and keep up with who you are following. Mr. Smith also mentioned he is a fan of the state of Alabama and gave me a, "GO JAGS!".

The second post I commented on of Mr. Smith's was titled, My Daughter Hates School. I Did Not See That Coming. Although at first glance it appeared as though it might be a housekeeping post, as I read further I realized I could apply the use of technology in the classroom to his problem. Mr. Smith reflects on his daughter (middle school aged) and her sudden distaste for school. After talking things over with her, he discovered she is burnt out on the monotonous routine of sitting in a desk for eight hours a day while knowledge and facts are being shoved into her head. He mentions that although she loves to learn, she is bored. He also mentioned some of her likes and almost all of them included something to do with technology. After thinking about his words, I wondered once again if this boredom that many students are facing could be helped by the use of technology. I raised this question to him in my comment I left. I discussed how technology seems to keep students engaged and helps them to be interactive in the lesson. Though his reply did not offer an answer to my question, I believe that technology can help and should be used much more in the schools.
I enjoyed Mr. Smith's blogs and look forward to keeping up with his posts as well as his posts on Twitter.

Project 9A

Individual Timetoast