An open letter to educators
I also have had similar experiences as Morgan and Dan. Sitting in a class, jotting down facts that are being spit out at us, and trying to stay awake as we stare at the power point in front of us. The classes I enjoy the most are the ones where we are allowed to go off on a tangent on one specific idea and talk about it for hours. The teacher who can carry on a CONVERSATION with the students for hours without the students even realizing that class had already ended. I've had fact-spitting teachers before, and sure they ensured my passing of the grad exams, but thats because the grad exams, ACT, SAT and all other standardized testing involve straight facts-which is a huge problem in itself. College professors have much more leeway, but as far as k-12 teachers are concerned, they have no choice but to be fact spitters. They are graded on how well their students do on standardized MULTIPLE CHOICE tests. So, teachers may have time to add in a little imagination and critical thinking, but for the most part, k-12 education will remain fact-based until our education system as a whole changes. I really dont understand how everything has evolved in our world except for one of the most important things, education. I doubt that my future employer will give me a multiple choice test before hiring me, so why is our world of education so obsessed with facts? My employers will want to know that I can successfully communicate my ideas and motivate others to question and discuss theories, ideas, etc. This is why I also appreciate my EDM 310 class because it allows me too look behind the useless surface of facts and to analyze the ideas behind the figures.
Richard Miller: This is how we dream
This technique of using multimedia to learn, is very beneficial. Where else could you look to find pictures, sound bytes, video, and text? no where. With multimedia learning, creative possibilities are endless. Like Dr. Miller said, this technique allows you to experience the subject. His outlook on how to use the internet as a learning tool with the rest of the world is amazing. He said that educators must be in the business of sharing ideas, freely. I completely agree. EDM 310 would be non-existent if this was not being practiced. I don't want to learn how to be a good teacher by reading books published years ago, I want to learn from the teachers and professors that are learning something new everyday, today! Information is always being updated, reviewed, and shared. And it is ours for the taking. A limitless amount of knowledge is out there just for us. We now have the power to add to it, improve it, and release it to the world once again. Wow. He talked about a program that searched the internet for blogs, news sites, etc. and takes all of this information and puts it together instantaneously so you could find out the mood of the world's population for today. That is amazing. There's no other word to describe it. But besides that, he emphasizes the importance of sharing innovative ideas. He's right. It's the only way we will all be able to move forward.
EDM for dummies and The Chipper series
Quite entertaining. I also saw that I had a problem in this class with procrastination and the self-motivated learning. I was actually thinking about this the other day when I passed an elementary school on my way to class. If I have a "crisis" during the week, I may not go to class, just turn my homework in online and plan to get the notes later. But when I get to the real world this just won't be acceptable. Especially since I plan on being an educator, I will have at least 25 students waiting on me every morning, whether my life is busy or not. I just think it's crazy that (hopefully) within the next few years, the success of 20 people will be in my hands every single day. With out my attendance (physically, mentally, and emotionally), the students will not succeed and that is my job-on top of the fact that I will get fired. I have been "over"procrastinating the past two weeks, and when I saw that elementary school parking lot full of teachers cars, I decided that I had to put a stop to it if I ever wanted to be successful in my career. Just like I plan on showing up for school on time every day, I plan on actually being EARLY with my posts. I understand that this is something that I should have known for sometime now, and I did. I just simply re-evaluated the situation and saw that I was slipping and that obviously wasn't working for me so now I plan to get back in the game.
Smartboard Debate
So each week I have read something that has changed my mind about a particular subject. The past few weeks I have been trying to figure out what I think is most important in the classroom, enthusiasm or technology. Both can motivate students to learn, just in different ways. Although I'm still on the fence about smartboards, I believe that they can effectively bring these two things together IF the teacher is well trained. Cathie pointed out the fact that they increase motivation and engagement. I asked my younger brother about the Smartboards in his classroom, and he said "they're really cool, they have lots of games and stuff." But they rarely use them. I said "so, basically they use them just like overhead projectors," he defensively stated "I said they were cool, OKAY." He may think they're cool, but he said they don't play any educational games, students don't go up to the smart boards, and they don't explore the web. The teacher stands there and touches the screen and talks. It may have my brother's attention because it's big and shiny, but unless the teacher effectively uses the interactive white board, it is a big waste of time and money for the education system.
