Blog Post assignment #2

Mr. Dancealot

       This video demonstrates exactly what I do not want to do when I become a teacher. During the entire video, you could see the confused and puzzled looks on all the students faces. He did not demonstrate well how to do any of the dances. For starters, he demonstrated how to do the dances without a partner and behind a desk where you could not even see his feet. Mr. Dancealot then told the student to sit down when he tried to get up and see over the desk that blocked everyone's view. He read straight from the power point and did not elaborate on anything. He should have broken the class up into partners and let them practice and learn hands on. For the final exam, he did not even bother to stay in the room with the students. He simply recorded the exam and never stayed to offer help or answer any questions. He did not care about the process or if they learned how to do it, just if they could preform for the final. A lot of teachers have his mentality. They teach and just expect memorization instead of learning the process, this reminded me of one of the motos for this class "No burp back education". He definitely did not follow this moto. He should have demonstrated and got out from behind the desk. He should have taken them to the dance room and shown them the dances and gave them practices there before the exam. This video did a good job of showing the confusion your students could experience if you don't take the time to explain and demonstrate. It's not always best to present the material and expect the students to memorize it.

The Networked Student

        To view this video by Wendy Drexler titled the Networked student, Click here. The networked student video informs us how to learn with a method called connectivism. This method claims that learning takes places through a large network of many diverse connections and ties. The teacher shows her class how to create a blog online and connect with their classmates and professionals all around the world. This video pretty much describes what we are doing in EDM 310. The students search the web for answers and write about things that they have found or need to discuss. The video informs us about a huge networking system that connects people in a helpful way that promotes learning. The huge network is made possible by the technology we have. This network helps students read other information from students and teachers around the world. Even though the blogs are opinions and not facts, the students can comment and get or give more information. The student can email professors and have video conferences, promoting one on one learning with each other. The networking site can open numerous doors for learning and numerous ways it can occur.
        Why does the networked student even need a teacher? There are several valid answers to that question. Teachers are there to promote learning and to help their students. Although her students may not have a textbook or lecture sections, she is still needed there for guidance. The students need to know how to navigate through the blogs and how to create it. She is there to show them how to build this 21st century learning network and how to learn from it. She is there to provide help when the students get lost or stuck on something online. She shows them how to properly communicate with other people and how to get useful information from them. She shows him how to pick which information is useful and which is just fluff or false. She shows him how to search properly and efficiently. Without the teachers guidance the students would not know how to build or navigate this blog.
        I agree with this video and what it is promoting. I believe that all students need to take a course with connectivism. The 21st century is filled with technology and less of textbooks and lectures. Students need to open the door of learning through technology and communicating with people. Even though I will only be an elementary teacher, I would still want to incorporate technology use in my classes. The 21st century student needs to be skilled in learning through technology. I believe this is important because the process is just as important as the material. Students need to learn how to do something and not just memorize information. This networking blog will help you search and find answers. It will also help you learn through other people and not just through a book with pages.

Teaching in the 21st century: Grace Hofer

The way Kevin Roberts presented his thoughts was a great way to challenge people. Roberts is correct that technology is changing and the younger generations will be more capable of using technology than we have been. The video makes you question of what the teachers job is if any information can be found at anytime by the students. The purpose of teachers is to teach students how to use these technological tools so they can know how to do it on their own. For example, what if you went up to a kid who has never even seen a computer in their life and told them to find out the population of a city. They would have no clue how to even begin. This is where teachers would come in, to show the kid how one would even begin to find information and how to arrive to the conclusion. This should challenge students who plan to one day teach to become familiar with all different types of technology and how to use them. If one does not know how to work a device, how are they expected to teach someone else how to use it? The next generation may be very familiar with devices the past generation may of known nothing about. Teachers and future teachers need to be on top of all knowledge about these devices the future generation will know, so we can teach them something they do not know. 




Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts: ChasityHeubach

What Vicki Davis has done to encourage her students to learn is remarkable. She has not only taught them technological skills that they will be able to use long after leaving her class, she has taught them how to learn through teaching themselves. She explains that most class rooms "use only paper and only pencils" and because of that only certain students will succeed. She says that she is teaching her students to learn how to learn. She seems to have given her students a sense of responsibility for their own success, rather than allow them to be fully reliant on her to flood them with information. She gives them resources to find answers for themselves. In the video she talks about how she gives definitions and lets them research the answer. She has found a way to motivate students to want to learn by allowing them the freedom to discover the ways of learning best suited for them. I think her example of teaching is one every teacher should follow. The best way to learn, is to do. I also noticed in her video that she actually has more class participation than a typical teacher would. By typical teacher, I mean one who has strict rules and guidelines that the students must follow and if they get of that straight and narrow path they are scorned. I can not begin to tell you how many teachers, especially in college, that I have encountered who force their views of a subject onto their students. And if your ideas don't match theirs you fail. That is not what teaching is about. Teaching is about giving a student the opportunity to develop their own ideas and learn for themselves. Ms. Davis has really inspired me and they way I would like to teach. 
 Check out Ms. Davis video here. http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-teachers-vicki-davis-video