Blog Post 2

1. I believe that the central message to this video was to show the viewers the complications with using technology in the classroom. It seems that this teacher relied too much on his technology, and not enough on his actual abilities to teach and demonstrate. The teacher showed a powerpoint presentation and would not allow the students out of their seats during his lectures. Maybe he could have stepped out from behind the desk to show the students the correct dance moves, or even allowed the class to stand up and participate with him. If the students would have been able to participate more in the class it would have been less "boring" and they possibly could have been more active learners. So yes I do agree with the conclusion that the class was not tought to the best of his abilities. During the final exam the students could not even differentiate the dances from one another to perform because they had never actively participated in practicing them with the teacher.

2. Roberts thinks teaching in the 21st century means for us as teachers to take advantage of the technological advances of society. He made a very strong point when the presentation was directing us towards the use of ipods, cellphones, and computers. He compared it to the use of other tools in the classroom like pens, pencil, and paper. Those are all tools the we use, it is up to us as the teacher to show the students how to use these tools. Students and everyone in general can search whatever they need to find out on the internet as far as facts go. However, the internet cannot effectively teach you how to use these facts. People cannot hide behind technology, it needs to be used as an aid. I think that teaching needs to change and use technology more. There are going to be problems and complications, but that is the only way to advance. You have to try new things even if they don't work in order to see change and possibly improvement. If Roberts is correct about technology and the potential it has then I think it will effect me by helping me. It can help me by linking me to other teachers to ask for help with lesson plans, it can help me stay connected with my students via blogger or other potential websites.

3. "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" This is the question that I read and thought about as the video played. Having a class where there is no textbook and encouraged learning with the use of a technology enabled the student to explore the internet world and begin networking. The skills he attained networking led him to new discoveries like downloading things to read on his ipod. Although the teacher was not standing in front of him teaching as much, the student was still able to be taught skills, and useful skills at that. If something is always handed to you then it makes the reward not as great, this student went out and did what he needed to do for the class and acquired great skills. The teacher was there to help guide and mentor him, but was not just spoon feeding him information, which I believe can help tremendously in life.

4. Vicki Davis' thesis during this video is that technology can be used and can be self rewarding not only for the students but for the teacher as well. In this video it showed her students learning this virtual reality type website where the students could create their own avatar. She said that when teaching she does not always define words for her students. She chooses to use words knowing that they are going to have to affectively use technology to look up these words and figure out the meaning. It made me think positively about technology when she said that the students were excited when they figured out exactly how to complete tasks. She said that you do not have to know how to do everything at first, and that is the great part of technology that becomes so rewarding once you learn how. In my opinion when I struggle with something and then I figure it out, the satisfaction I get from that is great and I think that is the feeling that she is trying to share with us in this video.

5. Who do I think is ahead in the learning race? Elementary students are ahead in the learning race. I think that these kids are ahead simply because they were born using technology. Students my age and older were in more of the debate generation over technology. It has been my experience being educated that some people like it and others do not. With public schools in Baldwin county all allowing their students to use Mac's and Ipad's they are growing up being more technologically advanced than generations before them. When I was coming into college I had to decide which type of laptop that I was going to purchase. Everyone told me to stay away from apple products because they cannot be used at the University, the same goes true to my sister who is enrolled at Tulane Univeristy. So it is interesting to me to see the differences now in such an early age like an elementary student.

6. Flipping the classroom is new to me. I think the idea of watching a video at home for homework, and then coming in with question is not necessarily new but calling it flipping the classroom is. I do not think this approach will be useful to me as an educator simply because I plan to teach much younger age students. I think this approach could be useful to a high school teacher. I think it would be less useful for younger students because when they watch the videos it is much harder for things to stay in their mind long term at a younger age. So watching the video at home, and then coming to class the next day would not benefit them as much because they would forget the questions they originally needed answering.

7. I can use a collaborative learning approach in my teaching. I think that it is much easier to learn something when you are working with others because that invites other students to have an opinion and you can learn from them and their experiences. If you cannot solve a problem yourself then through collaborative learning the problem can be solved together as a team which can not only be beneficial for the problem being solved but also for the relationships amongst students socially.

Technology in Elementary Schools