Blog Assignment 5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

Scott McLeod is an associate professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky, the founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), and the co-creator of the amazing video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens). Through his foundation CASTLE, he prepares tech-savvy educators, which is crucial in our time if we are to stay ahead of global competition in the technological field. He has won several awards and has been recognized by companies such as: IBM, the National School Board Association, Microsoft and the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Scott McLeod often blogs at Dangerously Irrelevant, Mind Dump and The Huffington Post.

In Scott McLeod’s post entitled, “Please don’t teach your kids this stuff”, he makes several points addressed to parents, educators and administrators who believe only in the negative aspects of technology. He illustrates through sarcasm that those who deny their students a proper and necessary technological education are lowering their students’ chance at a successful future. This type of sheltering also displays a lack in trust in the student’s ability to make responsible decisions, which is not good for the relationship between the adult and student. I believe that as parents, educators and administrators, it is our responsibility to also be moderators and educate our students on not only the dangers but also the benefits of our modern technology. There are dangers involved with the internet but as with anything else, sheltering our children will not teach them to protect themselves when they are on their own in the world.





The iSchool Initiative

In Travis Allen’s video, “The iSchool Initiative”, he suggests that some of the problems in America’s education system like budget cuts, teacher cut-backs and crowded classrooms could be solved through iSchool. His iSchool initiative proposes that pens, paper, books, copiers, maps, globes, and calculators along with many other current necessities for the classroom be replaced by iSchool. Travis states that many applications and programs for the iPhone are ready to be used in the classroom, such as: Formulae (for formulas and equations), U.S.A. Presidents, World Wiki and Star Walk just to name a few.

Through his iSchool initiative, Travis believes the American education system could save up to $600 per student, parents can keep track of their children’s progress, teachers can track attendance and homework and students can stay organized and informed on what their assignments are. I believe that this is a wonderful and environmental friendly idea and it will be a great contribution to teaching students how to be proficient in using modern technology. My only concern is for the underprivileged students at schools that could not even afford to provide every student with their own textbook. What will these schools do in order to solve their problems of budget cuts, teacher cut-backs and crowded classrooms? The iSchool initiative is a great one but it may not be for everybody.





Lux Aurumque

Wow! This is the immediate reaction I had to Eric Whitacre's "Lux Aurumque" video. Within the first five seconds of the video, before the singing even began, I was amazed at what Mr. Whitacre had accomplished. Through Dr. Strange's class my eyes are being opened to the many ways that technology has simplified our lives but I am absolutely amazed at this video. To think about this choir practicing and working together to make this song as lovely as they did, is a bit boggling. I can say though, that this is another confirmation of the convenience that technology provides. Just think about how difficult it would be to get everyone in this choir together in person to practice and they do not even have to be in the same country!
Kudos to Eric Whitacre.



Kevin Roberts video, “Teaching in the 21st Century”, proposes a change in the role of the educator from the main source of knowledge for their students to the filter of the knowledge that they are able to obtain through modern technology. Mr. Roberts expresses that the current duty of educators is to teach students how to obtain, analyze, apply and evaluate the information that is instantly available to them and also teach them responsibility, reliability and integrity when using that information. Mr. Roberts states that the perceived purpose of these technological tools must be changed from means of pure entertainment(short-lived, often irrelevant way of passively enjoying other's creativity) to engagement(actively learning to problem solve and create with long-lasting and meaningful effects).

I definitely agree with the positions expressed by Mr. Roberts because the convenience of technology allows students to access an abundant amount of information but still need to learn the skills to locate and properly use the information. They need instruction in the use of the information because of the consequences of the misuse of it, such as: plagiarism, slander, pirating and copyright. We need to be technologically literate educators who are able to encourage and nurture creativity and motivation to learn.