Blog Post #2

                                              What will teaching in the 21st Century be like?

                                                                       

1. Mr.Dancealot 
   I feel the instructor does understand how to dance, yet he feels that the knowledge needed to actually dance can be obtained strictly through a presentation and lectures. The central theme I feel he is trying to convey is that not every class can be taught the same way, much less every student can not learn the same way. To better push this point across, one student tries to stand up and see the teachers feet while he was demonstrating a dance move along with having other students show their frustration with him not giving them time to practice. This is a very correct assessment. With some classes the teacher can lecture while giving students chances to interject and comment between themselves, while other classes must be hands on. Without practical application all knowledge learned would be completely useless as shown during the final exam on the video. Even though it was open book, not one student knew how to translate their notes practically.

2. Teaching in the 21st Century  
     

•      Teaching with technology:     
• Enhancing team work 
• Group based learning
•  Engage students with the teachers

•       Filter for knowledge
• Instruct students how to use technology 
• Show students the benefits of technology in the class
• Educators are not the source      

•    Lesson plans 
• Must be relevant, challenging and ENGAGING
• Entertainment is not engagement 
• Be meaningful and powerful 
•    Where to start 
• Research what available 
• Start small
• Collaborate 
• Take a risk

    Kevin Roberts, the author of the Prezi slide show, has a valid point, education and technology are changing. Teaching should be more on having the students actively involved in all aspects of learning, not only in regurgitation. All to often teachers fall prey to teaching students only what is required for a particular exam. By equipping students with the sources and ability to research and discover knowledge on their own, it would seem very likely that students would memorize a greater amount given that they personally spent time finding the websites and reading the sources and documents then engaging other students in a discussion about that topic. 

I feel that incorporating technology into learning will allow the teacher to get out of the front of the class, walk around and interact, with broad discussions being held online that would open up a door for a more concise discussion in the classroom with the hopes of creating other trains of thought opening more doors and creating more interest. Engaging and keeping students interested in a subject could increase their ability to retain knowledge. 

3. Networked Student

   

  I feel the video on the networked student by Wendy Drexler to be a little pushing. Yes, students should be doing research on their own, finding credible sources that they could research on a specific topic. Yet, when you think about the idea of collectivism, that is the teacher almost allowing the students to teach themselves and having others teaching them. That might be a slippery slope, but I feel that having students going out to find information on their own on what ever topic that they wish is doing just that. Although, there is a great point brought to light, why have a teacher? The teacher is required to keep the student on track, to help when he or she becomes stuck, and to differentiate between opinions and fact. I will have to say that this train of thought and teaching should be set aside for the older students along with those more advanced. 

4. Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

  Vicky Davis, a teacher, emphasizes that teachers do not have to know how to do an activity to teach it. It is possible for the students to teach as the semester progresses. That allowing students with specific strengths instruct students on how they figured out their particular task. With this type of teaching, she is able to be engaged with the students observing the strengths and weaknesses of each students and creating ways to combat any obstacles that may face a student. And I agree with Mrs. Davis, her program is a great way to keep the students involved and increase learning, although I would be critical of the practicality in every classroom. 

5. Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?  

  Clearly the Gulf Shores Elementary School is currently ahead. Let us think about this though, psychology will tell you that it is easier to learn new things at a younger age, which is why learning a second language is easier at the age of four than twenty-four. So when Dr. Strange brings up the fact that these young students were so eager to teach him how to use a Macbook and his college aged student was having problems that becomes easier to understand. How many years has that elementary student spent using a PC. How many programs have they taught their selves to master on a PC and then immediately have to learn a completely different operating system. These children have the advantage of not having extensive experience with Microsoft systems. So should the question be who is ahead, or why are they ahead. Its the simple fact that college students did not have this advanced technology while in elementary school. In my case, I did not receive a phone until seventh grade and all i have the capability of doing was sms and phone calls. Of course these young students are ahead. 

6. Flipping the Classroom

  This is my first encounter with flipping. I have had professors in the past that would give us reading and research that would be discussed during the following week along with points to consider as we read. In my opinion that is a low tech version of what flipping is trying to do. I have also seen something similar to this done by a high school chemistry teacher, where she would record podcast of lessons. This would give students another chance to do practice problems, hear something they may have missed, or simply see if there was something they missed. I do not feel as a teacher that I would flip my classroom. Yes, I might take ideas presented but a total flip would not seem ideal. Having students learning the bulk is great but in addition to that i would keep them as group and create discussions. Have students interact with each other, or even create a handful of groups and have the groups decide on a specific stance on some event in history and argue against other groups as to why they are correct.