Blog Post 4

Don't teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

Mr. McLeod is an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University, as well as well as the director of C.A.S.T.L.E. He raises a good point in his post. Just like anything else, parents and teachers need to teach children safety when handling technology. Technology is a double edged sword, and kids need to be careful when using it. Cyber bullies and online predators are a real threat in today's society. Just like parents teach children about guns, fire, and the like, they should sit down with their children and teach them the proper usage of today's tech.


iSchool Initiative

The iSchool is a wonderful idea, but can it work in real schools? I love the idea of no books, no paper waste, and saving money. However, I have some questions. Can students be trusted with this equipment? Who are paying for the iSchools? Will it be the schools, who will lend them out to students each year? Or will parents and students buy them? It may be possible if the school buys them in bulk and then sells them to students, which will goad the students to take care of their own stuff. My last question is will there still be classrooms? I think it is great to go virtual like the video suggests, but there is still a need for classrooms. Students are not very good at keeping up with school work as it is, let alone if it was at home on one of these iSchools. The parents monitoring from any computer and phone is a really good idea. If I was a parent, I would love this feature. I also really like all the text books and library books being virtual as well. I would like to see this idea used in a couple of public schools for a couple of years to see how it does, because it sounds brilliant.


Lost Generation

I have to say, I was not expecting that. It starts off real depressing then it does a complete turnaround at the end. I’ve always thought that effect was pretty cool. This video gets you kind of down and depressed, but when she reads it backwards, it becomes a message of hope that spurs us on. It inspires us to show the world what we can do. I believe they used this technique because we’ve all heard uplifting speeches before, but they are so much more inspiring when something bad happens. Take for instance the movie Braveheart, Wallace’s speech was made inspiring because of the Scots’ situation. They were in a bleak, desperate situation, and his speech riled their spirits. Now, imagine that speech at some political rally, with no threat of being enslaved. It wouldn’t really have the same effect, would it?

Virtual Choir

Wow. All I can really say is wow. It was pretty amazing, especially that it is all online. With all the bad things you hear about the internet, it is nice to see some of the good that can come of it. I never imagined an online choir like this before. I also never thought an online choir could exist, but I was proven wrong. It is amazing what you can do with the internet and computers today. The internet can be used for some amazing things.

Teaching in the 21st Century

I agree with this video. Teaching methods need to change. In the world today, teachers are no longer the source of information, but they act as a filter, sifting through all the bogus information and teaching what is. Students can't believe everything they see online. Teachers need to teach skills for searching through all the information available to students. They need to incorporate other technologies like Google, podcasts, and Skype into lessons, if relevant. Take for instance, an English class writing a research paper. Most students will use Wikipedia as their main source, but that is unacceptable. Teachers know that Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, so it will not be a viable source most of the time. Therefore, the teacher needs to show them how to search Google properly and what to look for.